Music To My Ears
by Annanarra
Summary: Jackson looks like and average college student, with a big passion for music. He's got lots of things going for him, but nobody knows the pain that he hides. Elsa is the shy girl, the one who would get straight A's, even if she did find some friends to spend all day with. She has her secrets too. Appropriate JELSA! Modern AU. The cute story of two broken people finding each other.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

Sighing, Jack slammed his locker door. He rubbed his tired eyes with the one hand that wasn't full of books.

"You, okay man?" Hiccup asked, cocking his head.

"Yeah." Jack waved him off. "I'm fine."

"Uh, huh. The being quiet, not wearing blue, slamming doors, suddenly dying your hair to brown, being good and compliant in classes, and trying to sit by yourself all the time is so normal. I was just kidding, of course you're fine." Hiccup gives him an 'I'm not buying it' look.

Jack sighed once again. All those things _weren't_ normal for him.

"Your point is?"

"You aren't yourself Jack. What's going on?" Hiccup asked. Jack really didn't want to be having this conversation.

"It's nothing. It's our last week of high school, I'm just stressed." Jack lied. Like he'd tell anyone the real reason. "Let's just get to class."

….

" _Mr. Frost!" A stern voice shouted._

" _No!" Jack screamed. They rushed at him, soon looming over him._

"Mr. Frost!" Jack jerked his head up, pulling himself out of the dream. He saw the whole class staring at him, including the teacher. He looked to his right, and Hiccup glared at him.

"Yes?" Jack asked, his voice cracking slightly, but hopefully not noticeably.

"This is a warning young man. I think you need some more sleep at home." The teacher said, her eyes softening when she saw his tired face.

"Yes, mam." Jack nodded sleepily.

"Class dismissed early."

Jack quickly went out the door, but didn't, unfortunately, escape in time.

A hand pinned his shoulder to the wall. He wouldn't be surprised if it bruised.

"Okay, Frost. Hiccup's right. What's the gig?" The girl asked loudly. Jack held up his hand innocently, but noticeably limp.

"Hold on. Really Hiccup? You're a terrific friend you know." He gave Hiccup a look. "Merida, I'm fine. Just let me go."

Truthfully, he was stronger than her, but not lately. Way to tired.

"There, you just proved my point. Where are the insulting nick-names?" Merida lifted her hand away and folded her arms. "You fell asleep during the only class you like, and you started doing weird things."

"Define weird?" Jack bit his lip.

"Well," A new voice. "You start jerking every once in a while, you had a terrified grimace on your face, you were _very_ tense. And you were… whimpering I think?" Rapunzel said, counting on her fingers.

 _Shoot._

"Guys, just leave me alone. I'll be fine." Jack shoved away at Merida. She stopped him and held something in his face. A Dr. Pepper.

"Here, you need this."

"Oh." Jack snatched it from her and immediately opened it. He drank half of it under ten seconds. "Ah, thanks. Maybe I'll perk up a little."

"And now, he admits it." Rapunzel said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, for goodness sakes. See you tomorrow guys." Jack turned, and left with the soda in his hand.

….

In his room, Jack grabbed his notes from his math class, oh how he hated math. After studying for the math exam, Jack went downstairs for dinner.

"Hi, Jack. You seem to have perked up a little." His mom said. Jack shrugged.

"Merida gave me some soda today." Jack said.

"I see. How come you haven't been getting much sleep?" Jack rolled his eyes while she wasn't looking.

"I don't know. I'll be fine. So, what did you do today?" Jack said, trying to change the subject.

"This conversation is not over young man." She gave him the 'look'. "Nothing much happened today. Except _this,_ came in the mail."

Jack squinted at what she held in her hand. She tossed it at him and he caught it.

"What?! Did you open it?" He asked excitedly.

"No, I thought you would like to." She turned with a smile back to making Jack's plate.

Jack opened it and scanned the contents.

"Mom. Guess who's going to Dreamers of Disney University?" He smiled widely.

"Oh! That's great Jack!" His mother spun around, set down his plate in front of him, and clapped her hands. "I'm so proud of you!" She hugged him tightly.

"Okay, mom. You're squishing my face." He said, his voice muffled.

"Oh, sorry." She stepped back. "Now eat up. Also, take two of these before you go to bed. They will help you sleep." She gave him a bottle of pills.

"Sure." He said.

After Jack ate, he went back to his room and finished up his homework. He looked at the sleeping pills, and threw them into his messy closet to be lost for eternity.

Jack fell onto his bed, purely exhausted, and sighed. He was beginning to realize how much he'd been doing that lately, sighing. He really didn't want to have to fall asleep, and….

Jack shook his head, which is when his eyes caught his I-Pod. What a genius idea! Listen to music, then he won't fall asleep. He turned it on and found his 'Rock' playlist. He sunk down further into his bed and closed his eyes. Images flashed on the insides of his eyelids. Open flew his eyes, and he gasped.

 _Don't close your eyes._

Jack lifted up his I-Pod and watched the little dot make it's way through the line as the songs played instead.

…..

 _The girl screamed when she saw the man lying on the floor motionless, blood pouring out of his mouth. The innocent child would be scarred for life. But more so the killer._

 _The platinum haired boy looked down at his hands, stained with drops of blood. His eyes dance wildly in fear, and his lips trembled. He noticed that everyone was staring at him, and his shaky hands._

 _And then he bolted. Out of the room, out of the building, and out of sight. He found himself in an alley, with puddles. He kneeled and flung water at his face washing his tears, and trying to scrub the blood from his hands, arms, and anywhere else it was. He stilled and the water stilled as well. He saw is reflection in the water, an image that he now saw in a different light._

… _.._

Jack shot up in bed, panting. He looked down at his I-Pod, it was still playing, and yet he'd fallen asleep. He ripped the earbuds out of his ears, threw the thing across the room against the wall, and slammed his fists onto the sheets. He tried his best to not think of nightmare, er, memory. But failed.

Jack cried as silently as he could, his hands pulling at his brunette hair painfully. He began hyperventilating and tried to breathe evenly.

"Jack?"

Jack's rapid breath hitched when he heard knocking on the door. He clamped a hand on his mouth, and managed to still his breathing. He scrubbed at the tears on his face and wiped his nose with his sleeve before saying anything.

"Jack? Is everything alright in there?"

"I- Uh…." His voice sounded scratchy, unfortunately, and his voice caught in his throat.

"Jack? Jack! I'm coming in!"

NO! His mom can't come in! Not now! But it was too late. She opened the door, and her eyes bugged when she saw Jack, who hadn't realized he'd gone back to crying.

"Jack! What's wrong?" She rushed to his bedside and grasped his hands. Jack just shook his head because the sobs wouldn't let him talk. He also wasn't all too sure if he wanted to tell her. But he pretty much had to though now. He wiped his face again and took a deep breath. There was no changing what was going to happen now.

"Mom. I just want to say, that I love you."

"Jack? I"

"Shhh, I'll explain." Jack took another shuddering breath. "You remember how I went to Burgess Mall a couple weeks ago, right?" She nodded. "Well, I was almost about to leave, when I saw this girl running with this terrified look on her face. She kept running and I noticed a man chasing her stealthily enough that the un-interested passer-by didn't notice."

"I followed them and I saw the man corner the girl and grin this… this awful, sinister smile." Jack shuddered. "I shouted at him, and he looked at me. He went back to the girl, and I charged him. He wasn't much bigger than me. The fight escalated, and the next thing I knew I…I." Jack choked on a sob.

"Jackson, what happened?"

"I-I killed him." He whispered. He heard her sharp intake of breath. _I'm so sorry to let you down mom. You don't deserve something like this._ "And then I ran. T-that's why I insisted on dyeing my too-unique pale blonde hair to brown. I-I was scared that someone would recognize me. I was scared, I-I'm so, so, _so_ , scared." Jack broke down. He completely lost it. His heart and mind screamed and he just felt miserable. Everything could fade away and he wouldn't care, because he was barely there himself. He was broken, so devastatingly _broken._ Being scared of the authorities wasn't the only reason he dyed his hair. He was scared of himself. When he looked in the mirror, he doesn't completely see the monster he saw in the puddle that day. He was afraid of looking at the murderer. So, yes, when he looked in the mirror, he still sees himself, but he's not the same. And that is so true. Jack isn't the same, or normal, and he won't be, _ever._

Jack's mom rubbed his back while her own tears fell. She hugged him close, and Jack just poured out the pain his mourning heart couldn't say. But it spoke in more volumes than words ever could.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. ANOTHER story. Don't worry, I can handle it! Summer is here, and despite what some of you may think, it is busier than the school year for me. Soooo, updating WILL be SLOW!**_

 _ **I have been read so many great Jelsa fics lately, and mostly just Modern AU's so I'm kind of obsessed with that at the moment! This was the prologue, and there will be a time skip in the next update. But! I am not going to give you anymore spoilers except that this is TOTALLY JELSA! CuZ it ROXS!**_

 _ **Alright, fangirl moment over. Seriously thought, fangirl needs to be put IN THE FREAKING DICTIONARY!**_

 _ **So, anywho! I hope you enjoyed that dramatic chap! That angsty, depressing, exciting, cry-your-eyeballs-out morsel of AWESOMENESS! Because Jack is AMAZING! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D**_

 _ **Sorry, Jack. You're just really cool. At least I'm not weird like SOME people and like go CRAZY over you because they think you're hot. You're cute sure, but that's not the point. You're just awesome, and the most awesomest person to write about and the most awesomest perfect fit for Elsa!**_

 _ **OOoOOOOOOoooOOOkay! Enough of that. Seriously, I need to go to bed, as you can see fanfiction is making me a little wacky right now! :) Have a 'vonderful gut day dear reader friends'. !**_

 _ **God Bless!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	2. Chapter 1 Coffee and Cousins

_Chapter 1 ~ Coffee and Cousins_

Elsa Winters took a sip of her coffee as she looked at her phone.

 _Chad: Hey, where r u?_

 _Elsa: Dorm, why?_

 _Chad: Heh, heh, I need help with an assignment._

 _Elsa:*sigh Come on then._

Chad didn't take his time getting to her dorm. He knocked on the door, but didn't even wait for Elsa to say anything. He walked right in and dumped his books on Elsa's bed.

"Thank you! I swear I'm going to fail my class! I **hate** math!" He groaned.

"It's not that bad." Elsa shrugged. "So, not even a hello?"

"Sup, cuz." He said lamely, but with a knowing smirk. Elsa sighed.

"Come on then goofball, show me the problem." Elsa cleared a spot for him. She smiled tiredly as she helped him with his assignments. After Chad began to understand it better, she went back to her own work, which was actually a bit more confusing. Elsa ran a hand through her hair, and blinked her blood-shot eyes.

Chad stopped and looked at her.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked.

"Mhm." She nodded not looking up.

"Elsa." He said. She looked up at him. "Did you take your meds this morning?"

"Why?" She asked skeptically.

"Because you seem tired and stressed. That's what your pills and stuff are supposed to _fix._ "

"Oh. Yeah, I took them this morning. But I've switched brands of the night time one. And I think I'm going to start taking a third B-12 after lunch. Which is now, so hold on." Elsa stood up and went to a tall table by her window. She really was getting tired, and allergy season didn't help whatsoever. She was glad the Chad was kind enough to notice it though. Ever since… well never mind _what,_ but ever since _it_ , when she and her younger sister Anna moved in with their aunt and uncle, as well their three children, Elsa grew really close to her cousins. When she was choosing a college, she was thrilled that the oldest cousin, Chad, would be joining her. A familiar face! He was a like a brother to her, and he did care about her underneath all the goofiness.

Elsa grabbed a glass of water and a pill bottle that said, _B-12 Metabolism and Energy Support._ Quickly taking one pill out and swallowing it she went to fill the glass again and set it on the table for tomorrow morning.

"Are you done for today?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, actually I was doing Monday's homework." Elsa smiled.

"Really, Els? It's Saturday!" Chad groaned. "Let's go get some coffee." Chad craved coffee.

"Didn't you see? I already had coffee."

"It was decaf and you _need_ the caffeine." Chad pointed out with a smirk.

"How'd you know anyhow?"

"I looked at the cup, duh!" Chad rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go." He said jumping up.

"Just go without me, I have some stuff to do." Elsa turned around, when Chad grabbed her arm.

"No you don't, you're just making excuses. You need caffeine and you could always use extra socialization." Chad said, pulling her out the door.

"Hey, hey! Okay, fine! Let me put on some shoes at least!" Elsa said, digging her heels into the carpet. Chad chuckled and let her go.

"Fine, hurry up." Chad tapped his foot impatiently. Elsa went to her closet and looked around for her red flats. After rummaging around for a bit she chucked a sneaker, frustrated.

"Elsaaaaaa! Come on! The place is going to be packed soon, I wanted to beat lunch hour!" Chad whined. Elsa threw a shoe at him.

"Hold your pants on, coffee freak. I think Tooth stole my shoes." Elsa went over to her room-mate's closet and easily found her favorite sparkly red shoes. "Found them!"

"Finally! Hey, where is Tooth anyhow?" Chad asked.

"Spending the day with her siblings Aster, Sandy, and her dad North." Elsa said.

"Wait, Mr. Nick is Tooth's dad?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Elsa quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't know." Chad said with a silly look on his face.

"I know you have a crush on Tooth." Elsa smirked.

"Wh-wha-what! N-no! O-of course I don't! Heh, heh." Chad chuckled nervously as he fumbled with the bookmark sticking out of his textbook.

"Uh-huh. Sure." Elsa flicked him in the forehead as she passed him. "Now come on, you said you wanted to beat the hungry mob.

Turns out they didn't beat the mob. Elsa leaned against the wall, and pulled out the book she was currently reading out of her book bag. Chad peeked his head over her shoulder.

"What ya' reading?" He asked. He waggled his eyebrows. "A romance novel I see."

"Yes." Elsa sighed happily. "It's a really good book, and it's just one of those very heart-warming ones too."

"Uh-huh. I'm going to shut up now before you tell me the whole book. I know from experience that you do that." Chad smirked.

"Yeah, all the time Mom-" Elsa's breath hitched, and she looked down to see Chad's concerned face.

"Hey, it's okay. I know what you mean." Chad's eyes flicked back to the line in front of them. "Oh, would you look at that, we're next in line." He said, changing the subject.

Elsa sighed and smiled. Her eye's popped suddenly. "I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be back in just a minute."

"Okay, I'll order for you." Chad said, but she was already gone.

After Elsa came out, she found Chad sitting at a table.

"Hey, I got you your favorite, a Peppermint Mocha. And I got you _this!_ " Chad displayed a large piece of fudge.

"Oooh! Thanks, Chad!" Elsa beamed as she grabbed the fudge from him. "You want half?"

"Nah, I figure you want the whole thing. It _is_ chocolate, and can I guess that it's "that" time of the month?" Chad smirked.

"Maybe. Why?" Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you're tired, stressed, reading romance books again, you rushed to the bathroom, you've been a little moody, you brought up your-uh parents," Chad counted on his fingers. "And I still remember the frightening incident from last year at home."

"Oh." Elsa laughed, remembering the "incident." Elsa had been having a bad day during that time of the month, and Chad had been bugging her about homework help. Elsa lashed out at him, and began crying. Chad freaked and didn't know what to do, and was quite confused. Chad must have remembered the time that happened. "Well, thanks. Chocolate is helpful."

"No problem." He winked. "So, did you do your Christmas shopping yet?"

"Mostly, I still need to buy Olivia a present. You?" Elsa pointed her straw at him before poking it through her coffee lid.

"Yeah, about that." Chad gave her a sheepish smile. "I haven't even thought about it until now."

"Chad!" She smacked his hand playfully. "We leave for Christmas break in a week! Okay, we'll have to go shopping before we go."

"Thanks, I need help picking stuff out anyhow." Chad smiled.

"How did you survive your first two years of being a teenager without me?" Elsa teased.

"I honestly don't know." Chad chuckled.

Elsa's phone began ringing. She grabbed it out of her bag and answered.

"Hi, Anna. How are you?" She said.

" _Elsa!"_ Anna shouted. Elsa shrieked and the phone jumped from her hand. She fumbled with the phone so as to not let it hit the ground. She got a good grip on it and blew out an exasperated breath.

"Yes, Anna?" She spoke. Elsa then held the phone away from her ear a little, expecting a loud answer.

" _It's almost Christmas!"_ Anna shouted again. Chad laughed, trying not to spray coffee everywhere.

"Yes, Anna it is. Chad and I will be home next Saturday." Elsa said calmly.

" _I know! I'm so e-_ Anna! Give it back! It's mine!" Anna was cut off by a familiar male voice.

"Bye, Anna. Be nice to Lane. See you soon!" Elsa smiled. She laughed as she put her cell back into her bag.

"Well, she sure is excited." Chad chuckled.

…

"Elsa!" Came a chorus of voices when Chad and Elsa opened the door. Three people surrounded Elsa and pulled her toward the kitchen.

"We're so glad you're here!" Lane said.

"We need your help!" Anna shouted.

"Desperately!" Olivia added.

"What?" Elsa asked, amused.

"Math!" All three shouted at once.

"Oh! Sure, yeah, I'll help." Elsa smiled. Chad still stood in the doorway, arms crossed across his chest.

"Nice to see you guys too." He said flatly.

"Hi, Chad!" Anna waved.

"Why didn't you ask _me_ to help?"

"Because you're clearly not as smart as Elsa, Chad." Olivia smirked.

"Yeah, true, true. But still, I can help. You can't overwhelm Elsa with all of it." Chad said, pulling up a chair at the table.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Hello everyone! How are you all? I just absolutely LOVE Jelsa, and I can't wait till Elsa meets Jack, probably more than you do! Lots of this story will be influenced by things in my life.**_

 _ **Such as I am Elsa. Her cousins Chad, Olivia, and Lane are based on my cousins.**_ __ _ **And Anna represents my younger brother. Although I have not lost my parents, this is exactly what would happen if I did. Our Aunt and Uncle would become our legal guardians, and it would be likely that my cousin and I would go to college together. So, here are the ages of everyone now.**_

 _ **Elsa-18**_

 _ **Anna-14**_

 _ **Chad-17**_

 _ **Olivia-16**_

 _ **Lane-13**_

 _ **Jack-18**_

 _ **Hiccup-18**_

 _ **Merida-18**_

 _ **Rapunzel-18**_

 _ **So there you go! :D I'm so excited about this story, and so this was the first chapter. The last thing was just the prologue! :D HERE WE GO! Review please. Tell me what you think. What did you like? What did you dis-like? What are you expecting?**_ __ _ **See you all next time!**_

 _ **God Bless!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	3. Chapter 2 Monster

_Chapter 2 Monster_

The dorm room door clicked shut behind him as Jack tossed his car keys onto the desk nearby. After taking off his snowy sneakers and jacket, he pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his hair, putting it back in it's wild, spiky look.

Jack walked to his bed and plopped his bag on it and glanced at the calendar. He grabbed a nearby pen and checked off all the days that had passed during Christmas break all the way up to today, January 4th.

Jack had had a blast going home to his parents and sister, celebrating Christmas, and even celebrating his nineteenth birthday on New Year's Eve.

He began to unpack the few things he had taken home with him, when he found a note inside.

 _Dear Jack,_ it read.

 _You're most likely at your dorm right now, reading this. We just wanted to remind you that we love you so much, and that we're so proud of you. We can't believe that you've grown up already. You worked so hard this summer trying to get better so you could go to college, and you made it. And we're so proud of you for that, and we want you to live on with as much confidence as we have for you. We miss you already!_

 _We love you so much!_

 _Your parents and Emma._

 _P.S. from Em. I put a new CD for you in your little pillow. Enjoy!_

Jack bit his lip as tears stung eyes, but he held them back. How did he miss this note? Wait, forget the note, how did he not notice a freaking CD in his pillow for four months?!

Jack knelt down by his bed and stuck his hand underneath until he felt his un-wanted pillow. He coughed from the dust when he pulled it out. Waving the dusty air with one hand, he found the CD case inside the pillow case with the other. Jack stood and looked at the CD.

"Yes!" Jack shouted as he gave a little jump. "Thank you Em!" The only Skillet CD he was missing in his collection, was the album "Awake." Not anymore!

He ripped off the plastic wrapping and was just about to get that stupid sticker off the top holding it shut, when a knock on the door caused him to jump.

"Come in." He said, wondering who it was since it was obviously not his roommate.

In walked Mr. Nick wearing his classic red and green tie. The man was absolutely obsessed with Christmas, even after the cheery holiday.

"Hey, Mr. Nick. What's up?" Jack said calmly, although he was nervous inside.

"Well, I came to tell you that you're being moved to another dorm. You're new roommate is expecting you by the end of today." Mr. Nick said with his never changing cheerful smile.

"What?" Jack's eyes bugged slightly. "If this is about all that racket that goes on in here, than that's all Bunny's fault, I swear." Jack held his hands up innocently.

"Bunny?" Mr. Nick chuckled.

"Oh! I meant Aster, but Bunny is his nickname… it's a long story though. But, honestly, he's the one that is always getting angry and making noises down here, not me. He has a bad temper, and tends to throw things, and break things sometimes too. But not me!" Jack said quickly, trying to prove that he wasn't the culprit.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't even know why they're moving you, but I will assure you it is not because of that." Mr. Nick said with a sincere look.

"Oh." Jack sighed. "Well, I didn't really get along with _Aster_ all too well anyhow, so this good."

"Perfect. You will like your new roommate though. I can feel it! In my belly!" He said with his hands patting his round belly. Jack could see the twinkle in the older man's eye. "His name is Chad Miller. Nice young man. You'll get along fantastically!"

…

Jack knocked on the door and a guy with brown hair greeted him.

"Hi! I'm Chad, you must be Jack." Jack nodded and shook the hand Chad offered. "Come on in."

Chad grabbed one of Jack's bags and went inside. He set it down and turned around and looked at Jack funny.

"What?" Jack asked. Did he have something on his face or something?

"Oh, nothing. But… man, do you look like my cousin." Chad said.

"Well, what's he look like?" Jack asked.

"Elsa is actually a _she_." Chad snorted.

"Well, gee, thanks." Jack rolled his eyes playfully.

"No, but seriously, you have the same weird super light blonde hair, pale skin. Dude, you have blue eyes too, don't you?" Jack nodded. "Shut up, you guys could be twins or something."

"Well, I don't think I have a long lost twin out there. I'll have to meet this Elsa, to see for myself." Jack smirked.

"Yeeaahh." Chad said slowly with a suddenly mischievous look. A thoughtful glint came to his eyes and Jack wondered just what his new roommate was thinking. "We'll definitely have to do that sometime."

Chad continued to look at Jack with that look. After some silence, Jack cleared his throat.

"Okay, um, I'm going to start un-packing." Jack said, pointing to his bags.

"Alright, I'll help." The weird look leaving Chad's face, to Jack's relief. Later, Jack found his new CD.

"Hey, you got big CD player or something?" Jack asked holding out the CD.

"You like Skillet too? Sweet! Yeah, I got one." Chad nodded enthusiastically.

"Play it." Jack said with a smile. The disc started and the first song "Hero" started.

"Awesome." The two guys said at once.

Track two started and Jack just kind of stopped what he was doing.

" _The secret side of me, I never let you see_

 _I keep it caged but I can't control it_

 _So stay away from me, the beast is ugly_

 _I feel the rage and I just can't hold it_

 _It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls_

 _It comes awake and I can't control it_

 _Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head_

 _Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?_

 _I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster"_

He did hate what he'd become. It _did_ feel like a nightmare.

" _I, I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster_

 _My secret side I keep hid under lock and key_

 _I keep it caged but I can't control it_

 _'Cause if I let him out he'll tear me up, break me down_

 _Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?"_

How hard he's tried to keep his horror a secret, caged. But he can't control it inside of him. The guilt tears him up, breaks him down. He wished that he could cry out and have somebody save him from the torture, make it end.

" _I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster_

 _It's hiding in the dark, it's teeth are razor sharp_

 _There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart_

 _No one can hear me scream, maybe it's just a dream_

 _Maybe it's inside of me, stop this monster"_

Nightmares still plagued him every now and then. He screams but only in his dreams. But the dreams, the nightmares, are real, there is no stopping them.

" _I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I've gotta lose control, here's something radical_

 _I must confess that I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster_

 _I, I feel like a monster"_

"Dude. Earth to Jack?" Chad said, waving a hand in front of his face. Jack shook his head and moved his stare to Chad. "What was so interesting about that shirt?" Chad asked, gesturing to the shirt in his hands.

Jack fake coughed. "Um, nothing. It's not that, uh, n-never mind." Jack shrugged away the chills on his skin from the song. "Sorry. Maybe we should finish un-packing tomorrow. I'm kind of tired, you?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Chad said, guessing that that was why Jack and gone into no-where-land.

…

Lying awake in his bed, Jack stared up at the ceiling. That song wouldn't leave his mind. His stupid brain didn't want to go to sleep. Instead it wanted to think up every single way every single lyric in that song applied to him. And lots of that song applied to him, but it wasn't making him very happy. In fact, it was making him quite depressed.

' _Knock it off Frost. This is not productive thinking. Remember what Mrs. Cherhold always said." Don't focus on it, and focus on other positive things." Oh yeah, like what? Sure, there is plenty of great things I can think of, but none of them tends to trump the negative for very long.'_

Jack sighed and turned onto his side, staring at the wall now. He started thinking about his new roommate. Mr. Nick was right, they hit it off pretty well. But that made Jack a little nervous. He'd never told Bunny about his, "incident", because they didn't really get along. At all, in fact. But he knew this was a different case with Chad. He was going to have to tell him. But how, without freaking out, he didn't know. Or did he?

…

The next morning, Jack was heading down to the cafeteria for breakfast with Chad. From behind them, a voice that gave Jack the creeps shouted to him.

"Hey, Jackie boy." The sinister voice said. Jack's eyes darted to Chad and he mumbled to keep going.

"I'm talking to you jerk." Jack felt himself being shoved. He hit his head on the wall and fell down. He looked up at the _real_ jerk.

"Hello, Pitch. What brings your presence here, Mr. Wonderful?" Jack put on a bored look.

"Why, it's my first day here, of course." Pitch said slyly.

"Oh, joy. I thought I was rid of you at high school. Well, this is just lovely." Jack smiled glumly.

"Yes, yes. But here is a question. How did you manage to get in here? Oh, and look at this, you went back to white hair. Are you not scared anymore? Is it because, nobody knows you here? Hmm?" Pitch asked.

"Pitch, shut up." He said through his teeth, motioning to Chad with his eyes. Big mistake, he just revealed a new opening for Pitch.

Pitch smiled devilishly, the glint of evil evident in his eyes. "Well, hello there. A friend of Jack's are you? Has he told you his secret yet? No? Well…."

"Wow, look at the time! Breakfast is almost over, Chad! Let's go, before they put all the food away!" Jack said loudly, running to Chad and shoving him the opposite direction of Pitch.

Once they were far enough away, Jack stopped.

"You know, the cafeteria is the other way right? And there is still an half an hour before breakfast even starts." Chad said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just glad we got away from him." Jack said, taking a deep breath.

"So… not to pry, but is there something you'd like to tell me? You seriously don't have to if you don't want to though."

"No, I was going to tell you. Today actually. But, uh, I'm not going tell you. My mom is, matter of fact. I'll call her for you, and she'll tell you."

"To chicken to say anything yourself?" Chad asked with a smile.

"No, well… you'll understand after she tells you." Jack said, as he nervously brought up his mom's number on his phone.

" _Hi Jack! Miss us already?"_

"Hey, mom. Well, not exactly. Uh, I got moved to a different dorm, so I got a cool new roommate. But, he needs to know about, uh, you know. So, I was wondering if you could tell him. I'd really appreciate it." Jack said, the words tumbling out a little faster than his brain could comprehend.

" _I-I guess so. But you know, if you ever find yourself a girlfriend someday, I'm not going to be the one to tell her. Got that?"_

"Oh, yeah. That's a whole different ball game."

" _So, do you want me to tell him all of it, some of it, the gist of it?"_

"All. Just tell him everything. I'll answer any questions he has, but I really don't feel like bringing back every detail in my brain right now. Does that make sense? I don't know."

" _No, no. It makes sense. I'll do it. I'm proud of you son, and I love you. Don't ever forget that."_

"I love you too mom. Here is Chad." Jack handed the phone to Chad, his hand noticeably shaky and more pale than usual. Jack distracted himself by leaning against the wall and picking at some peeling paint. Every now and then he would glance over at Chad to get a clue at what he thought about everything, but he was maintaining the perfect poker face.

 _Take a deep breath. It's okay. It's not like he's going to hand me back the phone and then run away because he's scared of you or something. Right?_ Jack chuckled inwardly, doubting his own conscious.

"Thank you for taking your time to explain it to me, Mrs….." Chad said. "Mrs. Frost. I really appreciate it. Have a good day. Bye."

Jack looked at his hands, not wanting to look at Chad's face. He heard footsteps and then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You're one tough guy, Jack." Chad said. "I'm glad you were able to make it here though, and if you're ever struggling, I'll be here to help."

Jack let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Thanks. That is kind of why I spaced out last night. Remember? This sounds stupid, but the song kind of got to me and… yeah."

"When did _it_ happen?" Chad asked.

"About nine months ago. A little bit before I graduated high school. I went through lots of counseling during the summer."

"What was Pitch saying about your hair?" Chad asked, looking up at his wild, pale blonde hair.

"Well, after it happened, I was scared that somebody would recognize me and arrest me or something. So I dyed my hair brown. But, after some counseling, I went back to my natural color."

"Wait, that's natural? You're pulling my leg." Chad laughed.

"It's real alright. I know it's weird, but the even weirder fact is that my whole family has dark brown hair."

"That is messed up, man." Jack just shrugged with a smile in response. He looked down at his watch.

"Hey, we better get going, or breakfast is going to be over by the time we get there." Jack said.

"Okay. But, thanks for trusting me with that information." Chad smiled at him.

"You're welcome. Now come on, I'm starving."

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Hello! I'm super sorry that it's been awhile since I've updated, but I was on a media fast, then camp, and then my keyboard on my laptop stopped working, so now I'm using the family computer. So, yeah, sorry. Pray that my laptop starts working!**_

 _ **I'm sorry if this doesn't sound very much like a real college, but I haven't exactly gone to college yet. I've visited some, but that's it. I'm only almost 15 after all.**_

 _ **I just want to point out, that Jack is now 19 if you didn't catch that. And, yes, there will be a lot of songs in this story, thus the title. They will all be Skillet songs. Also, Jack absolutely loves Skillet music, and I encourage you to listen to the songs as you read through the story, they really sound awesome. All the songs are completely appropriate I promise you.**_ __ _ **One last thing about Jack. I'm adding something to Jack's character, he is going to be a bit more easily angered in this story. So, don't go thinking he's completely OCC in this story, he just has more of anger issue. :D Next chapter will probably be in Elsa's POV.**_

 _ **Questions?! Do you think Chad should be the one all for a relationship between Jack and his cousin, or should be protective of Elsa, or both? Who would you like to see more of or introduced into this story? If you listen to Skillet as well, do you have any song suggestions for a chapter?**_ __ _ **If you have any questions, just ask.**_

 _ **Please review, they make me write a new chapter faster! Hey, I just got an idea. What if they made like, a review meter where it measures how many reviews you got and if it gets filled up to the wanted goal than you get a new chapter! :D Ha, okay, sorry. I went a little ADD on you guys for a moment. :D**_

 _ **Have a good day everyone! God Bless!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	4. Chapter 3 Memories To Forget

_Chapter 3 ~ Memories To Forget_

 _(Takes place before Christmas break ends. Elsa's POV) {TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM}_

Elsa grabbed the towel near her and dried her hands from the soapy water. Lane finished drying and putting away the last dish.

"Thanks, Lane." She smiled. She reached for her thick bracelets on the counter.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted loudly from the living room. The older sister winced and walked out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Anna?" She asked, frowning out her. Anna didn't seem to notice as she bounced on her tiptoes.

"You got a package in the mail! A late Christmas present for you, and I bet you won't believe who it's from!" Anna squealed. Elsa snatched the box out of Anna's hands and gasped. She quickly turned to go to her room, holding the package to her chest with one arm.

"Elsa, wait! Aren't you going to open it? I want to see." Anna asked.

"No," Tears were beginning to prick her eyes. "I would like to open it privately please. I might show you later."

"But, Elsa!" Anna whined. Elsa glanced back at her sister, biting her bottom lip. She pushed on her door, but Anna was still following her.

"Not now, Anna." Elsa said through her teeth. Anna grabbed her hand.

"Please, Elsa…. Elsa, what happened to you?" Anna asked worriedly, looking at Elsa's wrist. She jerked her hand away from her sister, and slammed the door in her face.

"Go away. I'm fine." Elsa said, putting on an angry front, though she really was on the edge of tears.

"You can't always shut me out Elsa! I'm your sister!" Anna shouted, before she heard her stomp off.

Elsa sighed shakily as she plopped on her bed. She grabbed her wrist with her other hand and looked at the scars on it. In the past she had tampered with self-harm, though she recovered from it mostly, she hadn't told anyone about it. Instead, she wore a few thick bracelets over her left wrist. It also helped to read the encouraging things on the bracelets, instead of the bad memories the scars brought.

But Elsa forgot her bracelets at the sink. She could only hope Anna wouldn't mention this to their Aunt.

Elsa picked up the package she'd tossed onto her bed. She studied the carefully written name in the return address.

 _Olaf Anderson._

She was tempted to hide the package in her closet. And leave it there forever. It would bring back too many memories. But her curiosity won over.

Elsa tentatively opened the box. Inside, was a note with two other smaller boxes. Elsa read the note first.

 _Dear Elsa,_

 _How are you? I haven't heard from you in a while. I would like to get re-connected with you again._

 _My whole family and I miss you. I heard you are in college! Congratulations! Which college? I still have this last year of school left, then I would like to go to a college. Most likely get a degree in photography. What degrees are you getting?_

 _My parents ended up getting a divorce. At least there aren't all those fights anymore. Thanks for always letting me come over to escape that chaos by the way._

 _I hope you and Anna had a wonderful Christmas this year. How are your cousins? Your Aunt and Uncle?_

 _Okay, here is a question, I'm dying to ask you. Why don't you have a boyfriend yet? Unless Anna is keeping me in the dark here._

 _Speaking of Anna, she tells me you've changed, drastically._

Why can't Anna mind her own business?

 _She says you're super quiet now. That doesn't make any sense. You used to be just as wild as Anna!_

 _Well, I better go. But, I took some new pictures and some old ones and put them in those other two boxes. Merry Christmas, Elsa._

 _Your Old Friend,_

 _Olaf_

Elsa sighed deeply once again. She considered looking through pictures later, but decided against it. Opening the first box marked _Old,_ she began a journey to her past. Silly pictures of her, Olaf, and Anna together, first. But then there came pictures of her parents. Tears rained down from her face as she touched her mom and dad's faces.

She hastily put them away in the box and opened the one marked, _New._ The first picture was of Olaf. He looked so much older now. His hair had now darkened a little, and his face more matured. His blue eyes still held that sparkle of happiness and fun. He was how old now? Almost eighteen?

She flipped to the next picture. Two graves were silhouetted on a hill, the last rays of sunlight passing right over the top. Spring flowers were growing all around, and Elsa saw the trees in the background. These were her parent's graves. She hadn't visited them since she and her sister left. A sticky note was stuck the back of the picture. _I put new flowers on their graves every year. Why? I guess I feel like it's the right thing to do. ~Olaf_

"Thank you, Olaf." She whispered.

The next picture was of their house. It looked a little different, but it was still the same house. The lawn looked freshly mowed, and her old flower garden on the side of house had new flowers planted in it. One picture showed their old treehouse, now freshly painted with a variety of colors.

Elsa now remembered what a terrific photographer Olaf was. He brought his camera everywhere he went, even when they were little. Elsa remembered that he was always taking pictures, when he wasn't giving someone a hug that is. They were always stopping because Olaf had seen the perfect picture. And so they'd stop and let Olaf take a couple shots, then move on for a few minutes until he saw another perfect picture.

Elsa smiled at the memories. Olaf had been a wonderful friend, and she wondered why she never kept in touch with him. Well, she knew why, she didn't want him to bring back memories of her parents.

Wiping away her tears, Elsa decided she would look through the other photos another time, when she saw something near the back of the little box. She pulled out an untitled DVD. Getting her laptop and earphones out, she popped in the disc.

Olaf appeared on her laptop, with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, Elsa! Betcha' weren't expecting this, were you?" He said. Elsa smiled and shook her head.

"Well, I was listening to this song. And I was like, 'Holy crap! Somebody's been stalking me or something!'" Olaf laughed. "But, I thought you'd like to hear the song as well. So I learned it on my guitar! Ready?" Elsa chuckled and nodded her head, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

Olaf pulled out his acoustic guitar and began.

"I remember when

We used to laugh

About nothing at all.

It was better than going mad

From trying to solve all the problems we're going through.

Forget 'em all.

'Cause on those nights, we would stand and never fall!

Together, we faced it all.

Remember when we'd...

Stay up late and we'd talk all night

In a dark room lit by the T. V. Light.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

We'd listen to the radio play all night;

Didn't want to go home to another fight.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

I remember when

We used to drive

Anywhere but here,

As long as we'd forget our lives.

We were so young and confused that we didn't know

To laugh or cry!

Those nights were ours,

They will live and never die.

Together, we'd stand forever.

Remember when we'd...

Stay up late and we'd talk all night

In a dark room lit by the T. V. light.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

We'd listen to the radio play all night;

Didn't want to go home to another fight.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

Those nights belong to us.

There's nothing wrong with us!

Those nights belong to us...

I remember when

We used to laugh...

And now I wish those nights would last.

Stay up late and we'd talk all night

In a dark room lit by the T. V. light.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

We'd listen to the radio play all night;

Didn't want to go home to another fight.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

Stay up late and we'd talk all night

In a dark room lit by the T. V. light.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive.

We'd listen to the radio play all night;

Didn't want to go home to another fight.

Through all the hard times in my life,

Those nights kept me alive!

Those nights belong to us!

There's nothing wrong..."

"Well, there you go. Know what I meant about the whole stalker thing now?" Olaf put his guitar away. Elsa nodded.

"I hope I'll be talking to you later, Elsa. Remember," Olaf flashed a cell-phone in front of the camera. "I do own one of this things. I use it, all the time."

"Goodbye, Elsa." Olaf smiled before turning off the camera.

….

Elsa let her feelings pour out as she danced her fingers across the keys of the piano. After she finished her song, she still didn't feel satisfied. The song was too happy in her opinion. Elsa moved her hands to play the song one key above G position. The song now sounded tragic, mournful, and sad. Perfectly matching her mood and thoughts.

Elsa played every song she knew that way. As she finished playing a simple song, _Lullaby,_ her uncle came in and sat down at the piano bench.

"What's up with the depressing notes?" Uncle Jeff asked. Elsa shrugged. He placed his hands on the keys. "Want to play a duet?"

Elsa smiled and brought out one of her favorite pieces to play as a duet. _Star Wars: The Theme Song_.

After the song was finished, they sat back and smiled.

"Now, what's eating at you?" He asked, his tone a bit more serious. But Uncle Jeff couldn't really get very serious.

"Just remembering things. Good and bad memories. I got a package from Olaf today. I haven't heard a thing about him since we left." Elsa said.

"Elsa, that was four years ago!" He said, a bit shocked.

"I know." She said quietly. "Anna's kept in touch with him though."

"Speaking of Anna. She's worried about you. And mad at you. What happened? I heard a little bit from her, but what's your story?" Uncle Jeff put an arm around her shoulders.

"She was just making me a little irritated. She wasn't minding her own business, that's all."

"Okay, that explains why she's mad. Why is she worried though?"

 _Should I tell him? I know I should, but…. I don't want anybody to freak out. If I don't say anything now, I might not ever say anything. I'm not one to keep secrets either._

"I don't know. It's probably nothing." Elsa said, chickening out. _Sometimes, I need to keep some things to myself._

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Yeah, yeah, it's short. I know. I'll make it up to you all some other time. ;) I am super excited for the next few chapters! I love writing this for you guys, it's so awesome! I would like everyone to take not though, I will be gone July 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **through 12**_ _ **th**_ _ **so I won't be able to update that week.**_ __

 _ **I'm not getting very many reviews guys. Not that I don't appreciate the reviews I'm getting, you guys are awesome! But I know there are more than a couple of you reading this. I would really appreciate if you simply dropped a smiley face or something. It seriously does make me want to update a TON faster! I'm not trying to be selfish or anything, but it really does make an impact in my daily life when I get a review.**_ __

 _ **I used to write and read a lot of self-harm fics, but now it is a bit harder for me. For you see, like Elsa, I tampered with self-harm a little. Although I didn't go as far as Elsa did, it still makes my heart beat a bit faster just typing this, no lie. Makes me a bit paler too, I might add. *Takes literal deep breath* But, I am past that now. But there is something that someone said to me that I will always remember.**_

" _ **Even if you're scar-less on the outside, doesn't mean you don't have scars on your heart." Which is very, very true, and I wish it wasn't.**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope that I wrote that part of the story effectively enough for you. Now I completely understand why people put up trigger-warnings!**_

 _ **I introduced Olaf! YEAH! So EXCITING! Also, as I said at the very beginning, this chapter took place before last chapter. So last chapter hadn't happened yet. Sorry for the confusion, but I'm basically going from Elsa's POV to Jack's and repeat that over and over again. But I really needed this chapter to go back to Elsa's Christmas Break, or else the entire story would suck and fail. So that is that!**_

 _ **And yes, you may call me Anna, instead of my long pen name Annanarra. Another reason for that nickname, I am almost identical in personality to Anna from Frozen. So, yeah!**_

 _ **The song used today was "Those Nights" by Skillet. I dare you to listen to it! :D Love Skillet! :D**_

 _ **Till' next time, folks!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	5. Chapter 4 Rescued from the Creep

_Chapter 4_

 _Rescue from the Creep_

Jack twirled his pencil between his fingers, trying to finish up the paper on music history, due in two days. He was about to write something, when somebody sat down next to him.

"Hello, there." Chad said, scraping the chair across the floor.

"Keep it down." Jack said quietly. "We're in a library."

"Oh, right. So, what ya' working on?" Chad asked, leaning closer to Jack's notebook.

"A paper for my Music class. It's on the history of classical music." Jack said.

"Elsa is super smart. And she loves music. She could get that paper done within twenty, maybe thirty, minutes." Chad smirked. "How long have you been working at it?"

"Since last night. I just keep getting distracted. Because _somebody_ keeps interrupting me." Jack said.

Chad's phone started ringing. "Well, well, well. Speaking of Elsa…."

Jack listened in to this side of the conversation.

"Hey Els, what's up?"

"No, why?"

"Anna does. She talks to him all the time."

"Oookay, then. I could ask for you, if you like."

"No problem. Elsa, are you okay?"

"I don't know, you just, sound different."

"Okay, suit yourself. Talk to ya' later."

Chad set his phone on the table, and didn't turn it off. Jack saw a picture of Chad and another girl giving each other a side hug on his home screen.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Jack asked, pointing to the picture. Chad laughed, and shook his head.

"Ha, no. That, is Elsa." Chad said, leaning back in his chair. Jack picked up the smart-phone and looked closer. The girl was gorgeous. Long platinum blonde hair cascading down her shoulder. A bright smile with white teeth, pink lips, adorned her fair, pale complexion. Her blue sweater made her sky, blue eyes pop.

Chad snickered from behind a book that had materialized in his hands. Jack shot him a look.

"Are you going to start drooling?" Chad laughed.

"No. Shut up." Jack hid his smile as shoved Chad's phone back at him.

"Sure." Chad grunted, taking his phone back. "I'd love to introduce you guys, sometime."

"Whatever, I need to finish this paper."

….

Jack was peacefully napping in his dorm, when someone slammed the door. He jumped awake at the noise.

"What?!" He said loudly. Chad laughed at his startled expression.

"Nothing." He said smiling. He walked over to his large laptop on the desk and turned it on. "Hey, you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure, what do you got?" Jack said, standing up.

"Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Sorry, but I'm obsessed with them." Chad chuckled.

"Geek." Jack smirked. Chad nodded his head.

"You could say that." Jack laughed this time. He was feeling much happier compared to a couple days ago.

….

Jack's campus newspaper crinkled as he turned the page. He took another sip of his delicious coffee. It was certainly helping him wake up a bit. He'd spent last night completing his weekend assignments, before the weekend even started. Though it cost him some sleep, he was still glad he had the next two days free from brain work.

Jack noticed someone sit down on the couch opposite from him. He peeked out from his newspaper and almost did a spit-take with his coffee. There sat Elsa, the oh-so talked about cousin of Chad. She was even more stunning in person. She just sat there, a book in her hand and her blue eyes scanning back and forth, reading the pages.

"Hi." He said without thinking. She glanced up at looked at him.

"Hi." She said flatly. She went back to her book. Jack just tried to go back to his newspaper, but found himself staring at her more often. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone familiar. _Unfortunately._

Jack hid his face deep in his paper and hoped that Pitch wouldn't notice him. And he didn't. Who he did notice was far worse.

"Well, hello there." Came Pitch's sickeningly, sweet toned voice. "What's a beautiful lady like you doing all by yourself this fine day?"

"Don't touch me, please." Came Elsa's curt reply. Jack peered around the paper and saw Pitch hadn't removed his hand from her face. His finger traced her eyebrow.

"Don't touch me." She repeated. She grabbed at his hand, but he only caught it.

"But-"

"Leave her alone." Jack said in a low tone. Pitch looked his way, and smiled mischievously at him.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it? Are you going to beat me to _death_?" Pitch sneered. Jack flinched, but only slightly. He rose from where he was sitting, and took a few steps forward.

"Go. Now." He growled, pointing to the door out of the student lounge.

"Fine. But only because there is a lady present. I'm not done with you Frost." Pitch gave him a glare warning. Jack watched him leave before he turned to Elsa.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice noticeably softening. His gaze fell to her hands primly folded in her lap. So proper in such a tension built atmosphere.

"Yes." She said as she stood. "I have to go study now. Thank you for your help."

"Would you like me to walk with you to wherever you are going, in case he follows you?" Jack said quickly. Elsa looked at him, pondering his offer.

"No, I think I'll be alright. Thank you though. Have a good day." Elsa turned to go. Jack watched her leave as well, and hoped that Pitch would leave her alone.

Jack threw away the paper and coffee cup and headed to the music room.

Opening the door, and seeing all the instruments made him feel relaxed. He picked up a guitar and began strumming a few chords. Playing music always made him relax. His interest in music started when he was just a little kid. His dad had always kept a guitar in the living room, and Jack always found himself picking at the strings, listening to the different tones each string made. He would watch his father play it and would memorize the fingering positions. Eventually his dad began officially giving him lessons. Years and years of watching helped him catch on quickly, and he soon found himself playing all kinds of songs on his own guitar. Jack began getting involved with many musical related things, such as testing out his singing voice. He wasn't too bad, in his opinion. He learned piano, drums, and flute in the past nine years as well. Jack loved every aspect of music.

….

 _Elsa's POV_

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She quickly finished the walk to her dorm and set her book down on a table. Her roommate looked at her with her green eyes blinking.

"Is there a problem, Els?" Tooth asked.

"No, I mean, yes?" She asked herself, more than stated.

"Spill." Tooth gave her a look.

"There was some creep in the student lounge flirting with me. I told him to not touch me, then this guy told him to leave me alone. He eventually left, and then I did. I was worried that the creep might follow me." Elsa said.

"You just left your rescuer like that?" Tooth asked, a bewildered look on her face.

"Is that all you got out of that? And, no, I didn't. I thanked him and told him I needed to go study." Elsa said.

"You could have asked him to come with you to watch out for the creep." Tooth suggested.

"He offered that, but I wasn't that worried." Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anything else bothering you?" She asked.

"No." Elsa shook her head. _You're lying._ Her mind said. _I know I am. Shut up, please._ She mentally said back. She went to her bed and sat down, her back leaning against the wall. She kicked her shoes off and wiggled her feet around.

Elsa really wished she could have patched things up between herself and Anna before she left home. She tried to apologize, but she was most obviously being given the silent treatment.

Elsa's phone vibrated in her pocket.

 _I tried getting Olaf's number from Anna, but she said she knew you put me behind it. Sorry. ~Chad_

Elsa sighed. She finally wanted to get back in touch with Olaf. But Anna was being absolutely stubborn.

 _K. ~Elsa_

 _I have a friend I want you to meet. Can you drop by the coffee shop in an hour maybe? ~Chad_

 _I guess so. ~Elsa_

 _Sweet! See ya' then! ~Chad_

Tooth went out for early lunch, leaving Elsa alone in the quiet dorm. She decided to take a short nap instead of studying like she said she would.

Elsa's eyes fluttered open when she heard someone shuffling around in the room. Tooth turned around at hearing her stretch.

"Did you even get the guy's name?" She asked, out of the blue.

"What guy?" Elsa gave her a confused look.

"The dude who saved you from the creep. Remember?" Tooth said, mouthing a silent 'duh!'

"Oh, no I did not."

"Gosh. If you ever see this mystery man again, be a bit more appreciative. Things could have gotten weird if he didn't intervene. Am I right?" Tooth placed a hand on her hip. But all Elsa could think about was how snappy Tooth was acting, and a past situation with Anna. Sometime before the end of Elsa's senior year, Anna had come home from a visit to some friends in the next town over sobbing her eyes out. Elsa hadn't gotten anything out of the blubbery sentences except that Anna's old crush Hans had tried to kiss her, chased her, and then she got away somehow. She had wanted to find out what really happened, but didn't ever want Anna crying like that again. So she just kept quiet, so did the rest of the family. It's like it never happened, just a fading memory.

"Earth to Elsa? Answer my question." Tooth said in a fake sweet voice.

"Oh, uh, yes. And sure, if I do ever see him again. Sure." Elsa repeated, still a little phased out.

"Okay, whatever. I'm going to bed." Tooth waved her hand at her.

"Wait, why? It's only- Oh, my gosh! It's ten-oclock!" Elsa whipped around and grabbed her phone. Five missed messages and two missed calls. All from Chad.

 _I'm SOOOOOOO sorry I missed meeting your friend! I took a nap. And I just woke up! Sorry! ~Elsa_

Elsa let out a frustrated breath after she hit send. Not even a minute later…

 _Don't freak out about it. We'll just schedule another time. ~Chad_

 _Okay, thanks. *sighs* Sorry. I can talk to you tomorrow._ _~Elsa_

 _Good night Elsa. ~Chad_

Elsa smiled as she set her phone on the table. To her right, Tooth was already snoring on her bed. Elsa held back her chuckle, which resulted in a hilarious snort. She held her hand over her mouth as she silently burst into laughter. Okay, she was still obviously tired.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, her thoughts turned to Olaf and the past. Ever since he sent that package, memories that she thought she'd packed away forever where coming back. It was all bitter-sweet. But it honestly was starting to make her depressed, adding onto the fact that Anna wouldn't speak to her.

She needed to get a grip before she lost it. Which didn't really look to far off at this rate. She'd already tried forgetting about the bad things. That obviously hadn't worked. Now what?

Elsa remembered the worst day of her life very vividly. Unfortunately.

It had been a normal, bright sunny day. Elsa and Anna were watching movies in the living room, and raiding the kitchen since their parents had taken a trip to town. After a while, the two sisters were getting tired, and Elsa glanced up at the clock. An un-easiness came over her as she saw how late it was. Their parents should have been home by then.

" _Is there something wrong, Elsa?" Anna asked. Elsa spun around, putting on a bright smile for her younger sister._

" _No, but it's late. You should get to bed." Elsa said, pushing Anna to their room. As soon as she got Anna to bed, she rushed back to the living room. A million thoughts ran through her head. What happened to her mom and dad?_

 _Just in case, Elsa grabbed the phone, and went outside to sit on the porch._

 _An hour later, Elsa nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang in her hand._

" _Hello?" Elsa spoke in a small, tired voice._

" _Is this the Elsa Winters?"_

" _Yes. Who is this?"_

" _This is the police. Your parents have gotten in a car wreck. They are being taken to the hospital as we speak."_

" _What?!" Elsa choked._

" _I'm sorry. Do you have any way to get to the hospital?"_

" _I'm only 15, so I don't have a license. I can find somebody."_

" _Okay. Be safe. I'm sorry this happened to you. Good-bye."_

" _Bye." Elsa said in a quiet voice._

Elsa's parents died before they could get to the hospital. Suddenly, Elsa found herself without parents, and making decisions she was not prepared to make. After some time, Elsa and Anna moved all the way to Michigan to live with their aunt and uncle. The farm and other old belongings were sold and the money was put away for the girls to inherit later.

Tears slid down Elsa's cheeks as she fell asleep, dreaming of old times.

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **HEY! I had an awesome time at my youth convention in Kentucky! Best thing I've ever done in my entire life! :D**_

 _ **Okay, so I've been dying to update this thing, so I hope you liked it. And I made it as long as I could currently manage, considering my own laptop is once again incapable of typing. *sigh***_

 _ **Like I said before, lots of the stuff in this story is related to my own life. Now, actually parents are not dead. I live with them and love them to death. But Elsa's aunt and uncle are actually mine. And so on. You get. Lots of little details in this story are a copy of things in my life as well. :)**_

 _ **To everyone who reviewed, thank you! Chapter 3 got the most reviews so far! Lets keep em' comin' folks! Also, to everyone who fangirled and whatnot over me using Skillet, you guys rock! Haha, I'm so punny. ;) :P**_

 _ **Review Responses!**_

 _ **Denise Siah: That is so cool that you were thinking of something similar! Was it modern AU or not? ;) And about that song, I'm completely sure. It depends on how well it fits with a chapter that I want to do. I also already have a list of songs that I want to incorporate. But, we will see!**_

 _ **And to all my guest reviewers! I love guests who stay dedicated to reading stories on here. I know it's hard since you can't follow or favorite anything and all. But to make it easier in the future to responding to reviews, will ya'll give yourself your own name, instead of just saying guest? That way, if I want to answer your questions, I can speak to one specific guest and not all of you. Get it? Got it? Good! ;)**_

 _ **I apologize that I didn't use a song in this chapter, but I just couldn't think of one to go perfectly with this one. But if you have any song suggestions, please let me know!**_

 _ **Ta ta for now!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	6. Chapter 5 Yours To Hold

_Chapter 5_

 _Yours To Hold_

"What are we doing here?" Jack moaned, banging his head on the table in front of him. He kept his head down as Chad drummed his fingers.

"Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder the same thing." He said. Chad took out his phone and texted Elsa.

"Seriously, why are we here in the first place?" Jack asked again.

"I wanted you to meet my cousin, but this is the third time this week she said she could come meet us here, but every time she hasn't shown up." Chad moaned this time.

"Seriously?" Jack shook his head. "Let's just grab our own coffee and go. She's obviously not coming tonight. I've got some work to do."

Later, in their dorm, Jack downed the rest of his coffee and threw it away before picking up his electric guitar by his bed.

"I thought you said you had work to do?" Chad said.

"I do. Do you think you can just pick up a guitar and play it anytime you want to without learning or practicing it? That's what you got to do to be this good." Jack smirked, and began playing like crazy all over the guitar.

Chad clapped slowly. "Aright. I'll give you credit, you're okay." He walked to the keyboard set on a tall silver table at the corner of the room, and turned it on. "But can you do this?"

Chad then began to play like crazy all over his _keyboard._

Jack grunted _._ Then he chuckled. Then they both laughed a little.

"So," Jack said as he sat on his bed. "I did actually see your cousin the other day."

"Really? When?"

"Saturday morning sometime. Pitch came over and was giving her a hard time. I shooed him off, and she left to her dorm. And she…" Jack trailed off. Never mind that last thought.

"And…what?"

"And nothing. I saw her. There." Jack shrugged simply.

"Huh." Chad folded his arms and closed his eyes for a minute.

Jack smirked, he pretended to not really care, but honestly he really wanted to officially meet Elsa. He also knew that Chad had something up his sleeve.

…

"Open up your mouth more. You want to make an oval with your mouth, not a smile." Mrs. Fox said. "Remember, breath from you diaphragm."

"Ready, begin."

" _Do-, Rae-, Mi-, Fa-, So-, La, Ti-, Do-."_ The choir continued to exercise their voices, until the door opened. Jack turned to see Elsa walking in.

"May I help you?" Mrs. Fox asked.

"Yes, I'm going to be joining this class for the rest of the year." Elsa said quietly, handing the choir teacher a note.

"Very good. Go have a seat, I believe there is an empty one near the end." Mrs. Fox said, scurrying to her office to double check Elsa's correct class time.

Elsa walked across the room, and sat down a few rows in front of Jack.

"Hey girl, what are you doing in our class? I thought you were in band this hour?" Some girl next her whispered, yet not very quiet.

"I asked to be moved to choir this hour and band later, because that creep is in there and he won't leave me alone. "

"Oh, well at least you're in here with me!"

"Yeah."

…

So Elsa was in his choir class now. Jack thought about this on his way to the commons area for lunch. He pushed the heavy door open and immediately smiled at the temperature. He loved the cold, and always felt so much more awake and more alive in it. The crisp crunching sound of his shoes on the snow made him bubble with excitement. It meant all of his favorite things, and more.

In the midst of his joy, he didn't notice a dark figure sneaking behind the trees as he past them. Then, in the blink of an eye, Jack was shoved harshly into a hard snow bank. He squinted up at Pitch and frowned.

"What do you want?" Jack spat out.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little payback for butting in on my fun on Saturday." Pitch grinned wickedly.

Jack tensed a little, but he didn't make a move to escape. Pitch looked to his left, than to his right. Figuring the coast was clear he quickly punched Jack in the face. Jack didn't have time to catch his first breath before a barrage of punches hit his body. But he didn't fight back.

"To scared of what happened last time to fight back, wimp?" Pitch taunted. Jack just laid there and refused to comment or react. "No answer, huh?"

Pitch kicked him hard in the stomach before walking off. Jack gasped and curled into a ball, holding his stomach. After he caught his breath he pushed himself painfully up to a sitting position. Blood stained the white snow around him. His body shape was implanted into the firm snow.

Jack shakily got himself up and hobbled away. When he finally got to the commons area, people were everywhere, so Jack tried to walk in the shaded areas, where they couldn't see him very well. But they still saw him, and everyone just stared at him. He continued to walk, refusing to look up and acknowledge anybody.

"Excuse me." Someone said, standing in front of him. Jack looked up, and saw the campus nurse. She cleared her throat.

"Yes?" Jack said through chattering teeth. He'd laid in that snow so long that it had soaked through his long-sleeved shirt. She looked at him sympathetically.

"Why don't you come with me?" She said, walking towards her little building on the campus. Jack followed her and gladly welcomed the warmth for once, when she opened the door.

"Have a seat." She went into another little room. "Get into a fight did you?"

"You could say that." He said when she came back in.

"Didn't you fight back? I didn't see anybody else walk by, beat up and bloody like you."

"I could have fought, but I didn't."

"Hmmm, I see. You're a stubborn one then?" She chuckled as she had him remove his soaked shirt. She checked for bruises before handing him a dry one.

"I don't know." He shrugged. He really didn't want to talk right now. It made his face hurt, and she would never understand why he wouldn't fight back.

"Well, whatever then. Let's get that face cleaned up."

…

"Whoa, dude! What happened?"

Chad stared at Jack's face when he came in their dorm.

"Pitch decided to pay me back for helping Elsa the other day. I'm fine." _Just feeling like I'm about to burst with all this pent up anger._

"Man, what a jerk! I bet you put up a good fight though."

Jack tossed him an irritated glare. Chad scrunched his eyebrows for a minute, thinking, then his eyes widened. _Oh_ , he mothed.

"Okay, yeah. I think I should just go to the library to finish my work. I'll see ya' later." Chad saluted with two fingers before quickly running out the door with his books.

Jack waited about one minute after Chad left, then he yelled as loud as he could.

He punched his pillow, but found no satisfaction in something so soft and un-breakable. He needed to _break_ something. He clenched his hands tightly as he dug around in a drawer for some pencils, then he snapped them all into little bitty pieces. Still feeling the rage, he yelled again as he punched a nearby wall.

 _Shoot._ He thought when he saw the small dent he just made in the wall. He wiped his knuckles on his pants before he got up and grabbed his guitar. He let out the rest of his anger, and the rest of his messed up emotions that he hated by playing the dang life out of that guitar.

…

It'd been weeks since Elsa first joined their choir class. And every day, she seemed to get sadder and sadder. Why, he had no idea, but it made him sad too.

Jack watched her walk out the choir room after class quietly with her head down. She always look just the tiniest bit happier after the class, but still much the same overall. Her flats _click-clacked_ down the hall, as her hair hung over her eyes. She gripped her book so hard that her knuckles turned a familiar ghostly white He studied her more than the average person would, but he found her interesting.

When they reached the end of the hall, Jack opened the door for her. All she did was look up and nod her head at him before walking on. But that was all he needed. When she looked up, he saw her red, glistening eyes. It made him so sad, and he didn't know why.

…

Jack sat in the band room all by his lonesome, bored out of his mind. It was the weekend once again, and he figured he could spend some time around his favorite things. Surely he could find _something_ to do!

But no, he could not.

So, there he sat, drumming his fingers on the top of a piano. His thoughts drifted to Elsa, and her sad state. His fingers slipped and hit a couple keys.

 _That's it! Let's write a song._

It took him some time, a couple hours actually, but it most definitely killed his boredom and he was on a role! He'd written this from all the thoughts zooming in his brain.

 _I see you standing here,_

 _But you're so far away._

 _Starving for your attention,_

 _You don't even know my name._

 _You're going through so much_

 _But I know that I could be the one to hold you._

 _Every single day,_

 _I find it hard to say_

 _I could be yours alone._

 _You will see someday_

 _That all along the way_

 _I was yours to hold_

 _I was yours to hold._

 _I see you walking by,_

 _Your hair always hiding your face._

 _I wonder why you've been hurting?_

 _I wish I had some way to say;_

 _You're going through so much,_

 _Don't you know that I could be the one to hold you?_

 _Every single day_

 _I find it hard to say_

 _I could be yours alone._

 _You will see someday_

 _That all along the way_

 _I was yours to hold_

 _I was yours to hold._

 _I'm stretching but you're just out of reach_

 _You should know_

 _I'm ready when you're ready for me_

 _And I'm waiting for the right time_

 _For the day I catch your eye._

 _To let you know that I'm yours to hold._

 _Every single day,_

 _I find it hard to say_

 _I could be yours alone._

 _You will see someday,_

 _That all along the way,_

 _I was yours to hold._

 _I was yours to hold._

 _Every single day,_

 _I find it hard to say_

 _I could be yours alone._

 _You will see someday,_

 _That all along the way_

 _I was yours to hold._

 _I was yours to hold._

 _I'm stretching but you're just out of reach_

 _I'm ready when you're ready for me._

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Wow, I'm back. Well, for right now anyhow! I started public school, and GOSH, I have absolutely n-o NO time to write. But, I carved a little time out of my weekend to give you poor, poor readers this crappy chapter.**_

 _ **I did use a song this time, and I actually have been so stinking excited about this one FOREVER! Maybe the song will make up for the bad, rusty writing!**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope you notice that Jack and Elsa's minds are a little different, as in, in some areas their minds don't think as well or mature as they used to. The incidents that happened to them kind of deteriorated their minds a little.**_

 _ **I apologize for not updating before, and will try a little harder from here on out, but I cannot tell you when I will have time again to write.**_

 _ **Please review if you are in fact, still reading this story.**_ __

 _ **Until next time my people,**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	7. Chapter 6 Never Surrender

_**A/N Hey, it's a song chapter! Go to now and get the song "Never Surrender" by Skillet ready to listen along with when it comes up in the chapter! :D**_

Elsa tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she jotted down her notes.

"Alright, we're having our first exam on Monday, so make sure you study hard." Mrs. Runner said. The students gathered their things, and headed for the door.

Once in the crowded halls, Elsa went in the direction of the choir room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blue and white. Tilting her head slightly, she saw the man who saved her from the creep, and held the door for her last week. Elsa then quickly gasped. He had a split lip, and a black eye.

"A-are you alight?" Elsa asked hesitantly. He whipped his head around to her direction. He seemed surprised at first that she spoke to him, but quickly replaced the shocked look with a smile.

"Yeah. I just got into a little scuffle last hour. It's happened before." He managed to smile a little more.

"Oh. Uh- is there anything I can do to help?" She asked awkwardly.

"I don't…well, maybe. Do you know where I can get an ice-pack for this eye? I barely know how to get to my different classes!" He chuckled. Elsa smiled, just a little.

"Yes. Let's just tell Mrs. Fox what we're doing." Elsa said, walking a little faster to the choir room.

"Why would she let you go too?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "She's nice, but she's a stickler for attendance and all that."

"You'll see." Elsa said.

At the choir room, Elsa walked to Mrs. Fox's desk, and kneeled to place her folded arms on the table and rest her chin on top.

"Mrs. Fox, my friend got hit in the eye, and I was wondering if I may show him where some ice is?" Elsa smiled sweetly up at the choir teacher.

"Of course, Elsa. I won't count you absent. Who is your friend, so I can count him too?" She asked.

"Just me, mam." He said, peeking around the door.

"My, my! That is a nasty eye! Go on, you _do_ need that ice." Mrs. Fox said, shooing them off.

"Well," He said once they were out. "That did go well. Nice going."

"Not a problem. Now, where to get some ice? Probably the cafeteria or the kitchen I would think. Let's head that way then."

…

"So, what's your name?" Elsa asked him shyly.

"Jackson, but you can call me Jack." He smiled.

"Nice to officially meet you Jack, I'm Elsa."

"Nice to meet you, Elsa." Jack said, bowing comically. A small giggle escaped Elsa's lips.

Then the kitchen came into view, and they located a freezer with ice. Elsa found a baggie to put some ice in, and Jack was set to go. Except his lip, which was absolutely painful.

"So, how did that happen _exactly_?" Elsa asked, wanting some specifics.

"Oh, you know. Like I said. Guys are always wanting to scuffle around a bit. It was my fault really," Jack shrugged.

"Did you start it?"

"Well, no."

"Then how was it your fault?" Elsa folded her arms.

"I-I… I don't know. Anyways, should we go back to class?" Jack nodded in the other direction.

"No, by the time we would get there, class would be over," Elsa said, checking her watch.

"Well," Jack thought for a minute. He looked at Elsa standing there. He was so glad that he was able to officially meet her. Even if it did mean another beat down from Pitch. Again he hadn't fought back, he absolutely refused.

"Excuse me?" Elsa cleared her throat. Jack shook his head lightly and broke his stare away from Elsa.

"Oh, uh. Then how about we go get some coffee until next class. Since you took the time to help me find an icepack and all." Jack said.

"Oh, I don't know,"

"Come on, I owe ya'," Jack said with a smile.

"I guess so," Elsa managed to say before Jack quickly linked arms with her and began walking to the campus coffee shop.

…

"I love this coffee shop," Elsa said, an hour later. They had spent the rest of their choir class time, and their lunch hour in there. "The idea of combining a library and a coffee shop is brilliant. Personally, nothing could go better together than coffee and books. Well, maybe music, but hey, this'll do."

"Yeah, it's pretty neat. So, what instruments do you play? I've heard that you like music quite a bit," Jack said.

"Well, I play the piano, clarinet, guitar, and the violin," Elsa said with a shy smile.

"Wow! Pretty talented aren't we? You sing too?" Jack said, purposely making her blush. Elsa ducked her head and nodded.

"Let's see, I play guitar, piano, drums, a little trumpet, and I sing," Jack smiled, feeling accomplished.

"Cool. It's always nice to meet another musically talented person like yourself," Elsa said.

"Yeah it is."

Over the course of that hour, Elsa and Jack got to know each other a little. And just that little bit made them curious, intrigued, with the other person. So the next day, in their choir class, Jack quickly sat down at the seat next to her.

"Oh, hi," Elsa said, startled.

"Hello, nice to see you again. Care to join me again for lunch?"

Elsa looked at him suspiciously.

"I suppose."

"Great! See ya' then."

 _Mission Accomplished!_ Thought Jack as he jumped up and went to his seat.

…

"So, we are going to try one more time at getting Elsa to meet us at the coffee shop," Chad said. Jack snorted without looking up from his phone.

"You know I already met her right?"

"Yeah, but not officially." _Mmhhmm, yeah. Sure._ Jack just decided to play along.

"Okay."

Later, at the coffee shop, Jack and Chad sat waiting at a table for Elsa.

Jack looked up and saw Elsa walk in.

"Elsa! Glad you could finally make it," Chad said.

"Hey, I tried the other times. But sleep tried harder," Elsa chuckled. "So who's your friend?"

Chad gestured to Jack. Jack hid his face behind his phone with a smile.

Elsa face looked confused as she pulled away the phone from his face. "Jack?"

"Yes?"

"You're Chad's new friends that he's been dying for me to meet?"

"Yup."

Elsa blanked for a moment. Then she began to laugh.

"What?" Chad asked.

"I told you buddy, we already met. Officially too," Jack said. "We've been talking for about a month now."

"Wait, you guys have been, "talking"?" Chad said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"No, no, no, no!" Jack chuckled nervously. "Not like that. We're just friends. Honest."

"Yeah." Elsa said quickly.

"Huh," Chad said. "Well, let's get some coffee anyhow."

…

…

…

…

Elsa hummed as she walked along on the sidewalk. Spring was on its way, and the air smelled of rain and dirt.

Her peaceful thoughts were disturbed when she heard a voice nearby. A familiar one. _Jack._ She turned toward his sound and walked in that direction. Elsa didn't know what it was about him that made her feel so open and yet so shy around him at the same time. She was glad she met him, and considered him a great friend. If she really thought about it, she always felt less depressed around him.

Elsa turned a corner, and heard his voice quite clearly. But to her horror, what she found was not she was expecting. Pitch was there with him, holding him against the wall by his neck with one hand, and punching him in the gut with the other. Jack's hands scraped and scratched Pitch's hold, but it did no good.

Elsa didn't know what to do. She wanted to help, but what could she do. Suddenly instincts kicked in and she bent down and picked up a fair sized rock, and threw it in their direction. It distracted Pitch only momentarily, so Elsa kicked a bunch of rocks with her foot.

Pitch jumped a little and dropped Jack to the grand. He laid limp like a bloody rag doll against the wall.

"Until you fight back _Jack-***,_ I'm going to keep coming back." Pitch sneered, before taking off. Elsa hid behind a tree until he was gone. Then she turned and ran to Jack.

"Jack. Oh, Jack, what did you do?" Elsa said to Jack's un-conscious body. Elsa inspected him, and decided that he needed help.

"Just, stay." She said, though he couldn't hear her, before she ran to find the nurse.

"Mrs. Dunbrough! I need you!" She shouted, when she spotted the nurse.

"What is it dear? I don't see anything the matter."

"It's not me. It's Jack. He got beat up really bad." Elsa said, her voice squeaking a little.

"I hope it's not the same I kid I think it is. Show me where he's at," She said.

Elsa led her to the place where she'd left Jack.

After a few minutes, Elsa asked, "Will he be okay?"

"Yes, just awfully sore and battered for a while."

"Okay. Um, I think I'm going to go no. Just, one thing, don't tell him I found him. Please?" Elsa asked.

"Sure."

Elsa took off before he could gain consciousness.

…

…

Elsa closed her book and stared at her phone. It had been months since she tried to talk to Anna again. She had figured out how to contact Olaf though, and she had begun re-connecting with him. But she missed her sister greatly.

Elsa didn't know what she was doing until she was already ringing Anna's phone.

" _Hello?"_

"Hi. Anna. It's Elsa."

" _Oh. What do you want?"_

"I-uh- just wanted to talk."

" _Oh. Um, okay. What did you want to talk about?"_

Elsa sighed, Anna wasn't really mad anymore.

"Well, I don't know. We haven't talked in a long-while, so I thought maybe you'd catch me up on some things at home."

" _Okay!"_ Elsa smiled, she had her sister back. And it was _that_ easy!

"How is everybody?"

" _Just fine. I actually managed to pass my Algebra 1 exam! I can't believe it! All I've got to do now is finish this last quarter and pass the end of the year exam, and I'll pass my freshman year in high school! I'm so excited! How about you, ready to finish your freshman year of college?"_

"Yes, I am. Well, kind of. I'm going to miss some people."

" _Oh, Elsa! You actually made friends! I'm so excited! Did you meet a guy?! Please tell me you did!"_

Elsa rolled her eyes. Anna was romantic for sure.

"Yes-" Anna cut her off.

" _Oh My Gosh!_ _ **Aunty! Come Quick!**_ _"_

"No, Anna. Not like that though. We're just friends."

" _Oh."_ Anna deflated. _"Never mind, Aunty. False alarm."_

"But he is nice. I'm glad we're friends."

" _Oooh! Speaking of nice guys, I met a guy!"_

"Anna."

" _What? He's adorable and incredibly charming and kind! You'd love him, Elsa."_

"Anna. You remember what happened last time."

" _Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'll be fine. Kristoff is completely harmless. Plus, he's not a stranger. Aunty and Uncle, and all the rest of the family already met him."_

"I understand Anna, but I don't know if you do. Please be super careful, I don't want you to get hurt again."

" _Elsa, what do you know about love? The only thing you love is being alone in your room, and your music."_

Elsa was speechless.

" _Goodbye Elsa."_ Anna said quietly, almost regretfully. But the damage had already been done. Elsa heard Anna hang up. The phone just dropped from her hands the floor. She didn't even care if she cracked it. She was shocked. But it didn't last long.

Elsa began bawling. She stumbled to her bed and hugged her pillow closely to her. She heard the door open. She assumed it was Tooth, but she didn't care. Tooth let her be, knowing already what to do in these situations. Elsa continued crying until there was no more tears left. _What was I thinking, calling Anna back? Why doesn't she understand that I don't want her hurt or used?_

After Elsa was done crying, Tooth came over and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Here, this might help." Tooth handed her a mug of hot-chocolate. "Did you forget your meds this afternoon?"

"No." Elsa croaked as she took the mug from her. "It's something else. I'll be okay. But, thanks."

Tooth smiled at her and gave her a hug. Elsa took in a deep breath before she let go.

"You're welcome. Let me know if you need anything."

"Okay."

…

…

Elsa dragged her feet as she walked into the choir room in her sweats and comfy pull-over. She did and didn't feel like singing today. At least she didn't have to be in the same class with that despicable creep anymore.

Elsa slumped in her chair, earning a concerned eye from Mrs. Fox.

Elsa tried singing the happy song with the choir, but she just couldn't.

"Hey, you alright?" The girl next to her asked.

Elsa tensed, and tried to answer her but couldn't. She could feel the tears coming. She looked up at Mrs. Fox, making sure she saw her before she got up and went into the sound-proof practice room.

She let the tears roll down her face, trying not to cry loudly. A sob escaped her lips, when suddenly the door opened. She hid her face in her arms, trying not to cry. Elsa tensed when she felt an arm around her shoulders. She peeked up through her arms and gasped when she saw Jack looking kindly down at her.

"What's the matter, Elsa?" Jack whispered. His breath on her ear made her shiver. Elsa only shook her head, and choked on a sob.

"Hey, shhh. It's okay, just calm down. Shhhh." Jack soothed, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. Elsa tried taking deep breaths in and out, in and out.

After she calmed down, Jack went and got her some water.

"Now," Jack said as he sunk to the floor beside her. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

Elsa explained to him, slowly and bit by bit, everything about her parents, about Olaf, and about the spat between her and Anna. She had to stop here and there to compose herself, but she eventually told him the whole story.

Elsa sat on the piano bench, her back to Jack, not wanting to watch him process everything she said. She fingered the black and white keys, and suddenly felt an odd urge in them to hit certain keys. A song sprang to life in her mind, and she gave in.

 _Do you know what it's like when_

 _You're scared to see yourself?_

 _Do you know what it's like when_

 _You wish you were someone else_

 _Who didn't need your help to get by?_

 _Do you know what it's like_

 _To wanna surrender?_

 _I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow_

 _I don't wanna live like this today_

 _Make me feel better, I wanna feel better_

 _Stay with me here now and never surrender_

 _Never surrender_

 _Do you know what it's like when_

 _You're not who you wanna be?_

 _Do you know what it's like to_

 _Be your own worst enemy_

 _Who sees the things in me I can't hide?_

 _Do you know what it's like_

 _To wanna surrender?_

 _I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow_

 _I don't wanna live like this today_

 _Make me feel better, I wanna feel better_

 _Stay with me here now and never surrender_

 _Make me feel better, you make me feel better_

 _You make me feel better, put me back together_

 _I don't wanna feel like this tomorrow_

 _I don't wanna live like this today_

 _Make me feel better, I need to feel better_

 _Stay with me here now and never surrender_

 _Put me back together_

 _Never surrender, make me feel better_

 _You make me feel better_

 _Stay with me here now and never surrender._

Elsa turned around as Jack put a hand on her shoulder. She could see tear tracks down his cheeks. She stood up and held out her hand palm side up. She pulled the sleeve of her pull-over up her arm.

She looked down at the scars on her wrist with regret and sorrow. An unknown fear sprang upon her, making her feel weak and vulnerable. She felt homesick although she was technically home. Alone, though she was not. Frightened, though the only enemy was pale memories ingrained on her wrist. Invisible and un-important to everyone but her.

Elsa's blood ran cold as Jack traced the scars with tips of his fingers. Chills ran up her spine and goosebumps covered her arms visibly. He then slid her sleeve back down, and looked at her. He reached his arms around her and hugged her. Elsa tensed at first, then relaxed in his embrace. She'd never told anyone anything remotely close to that full story in her life, and most definitely not her scars. But somehow she just felt safe and comfortable in his presence.

"Hey, it's gonna' be okay, alright?" Jack murmured. Elsa let out a little sob, but not as much from sadness this time, more from… relief. Relief that she finally had someone else to release her problems to, instead of keeping them bottled up. Someone who would never let her surrender.

 _ **Hi everyone. I would like to apologize big time! This is the longest I haven't done a thing on fanfiction! I am so sorry! You guys are all such fantastic readers, and deserve regular updates and fantastic chapters!**_

 _ **The only excuse I have is that I am in my high schools musical, and we have practice after school everyday till' six, so I have hardly any time to even do my homework. So maybe, I can't make any promises unfortunately, when the musical is over I might be able to write more. Hopefully. I want to, and it drives me crazy not being able to write, it makes me very sad. Now, I would like to move on.**_

 _ **I used another song! Yeah! "Never Surrender" by once again Skillet. I have been really looking forward to this chapter!**_

 _ **If you guys would please pray for me, I have been attacked by Satan multiple times recently, and he's trying to make me depressed. My school recently had a scary bomb threat, and a girl in my school committed suicide, and two girl ran away last week. So please pray for me!**_

 _ **Well, here come the holidays!**_

 _ **I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I also hope you guys haven't given up on me. :( Please review, and I once again apologize for the in-convenience of not editing this chapter because I just wanted to post it already.**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	8. Chapter 7 Warming Up

_Chapter 7 Warming Up_

I warm, steady breeze teased at her hair. Elsa tilted her head back into the sun and smiled. She sat sideways, with her legs stretched across a green bench. A beautiful budding willow tree shaded it perfectly.

Spring time was here, and as much as she loved winter, it was great to feel warm outdoors. Elsa looked back down at her book. It was spring break, and she was enjoying it thoroughly. When she told Jack about her problems, she knew that she felt better. Since then though, she has felt absolutely free; that's not what she expected to feel.

Someone began to walk towards her.

"So, what's got you all happy?" Jack asked as he approached.

"Oh, nothing in particular. I'm loving the sunshine though," Elsa said, smiling wider.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Elsa said. She kicked her sneakers off, and folded her legs underneath her.

"Whatcha you reading?"

"I'm re-reading _Divergent_ for the…fifth time."

Jack laughed, "So you like to read _a lot_ then. Either that, or you just really like that book."

"Both" Elsa chuckled. She looked up to his face and saw his dimples as he smiled. His dazzling blue eyes seemed to smile as well as he watched her. Everything about him makes her happy. Just thinking about him makes her forget her pain momentarily. She's never met someone like that.

"Hello?" Jack waved his hand in her face. Elsa blushed and looked down with a shy smile. She was staring at him.

"Sorry, I was just wondering if you were real or not," Elsa said quietly.

"I'm very real alright. Why?" Jack narrowed his eyes curiously.

"Never mind. Hey, do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure," Jack stood up, and offered her a hand after she put on her shoes. She hesitantly grabbed it and he pulled her up. Hard enough that she jumped up a little and bumped him. She moved away from him quickly. She could still feel the warmth of his hand around hers. Elsa shook her head.

"So, uh, Chad and I were going to play some games tonight, and I was wondering if you would like to join us. You could bring Tooth if you want to, I'm sure Chad wouldn't object to that," Jack said with a smug smile.

"Hey, that sounds like fun," Elsa paused to think about it. She didn't have any homework to do, since it was spring break, and her laundry could definitely wait another day. "Yeah, why not? I'd love to!"

"Great! Will you bring Tooth?"

"Yeah. Why?" Elsa quirked an eyebrow.

"Come on, Chad's your cousin, for goodness sake," Jack said.

"I know he's got a thing for her. Do you think he'll do something about it? You know, make a move or something?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe, but I highly doubt he would do it tonight, since it wasn't planned or anything," said Jack.

"Probably."

…

…

 _Later that night._

…

"You so just cheated!" Chad shouted.

"Did not!" Elsa smirked, folding her arms across her chest. "You just can't stand losing."

"Oh, that's a low blow. I saw you, you totally cheated."

"No I didn't. I know you, you're my cousin," Elsa turned to Jack and Tooth. "Chad hates losing so he always throws a fit and calls you a cheater. And when he does win he rubs it in your face and you never live it down."

Chad glared at her as his cheeks turned red. He mumbled something that they couldn't hear.

"Why don't we go get some more snacks?" Tooth suggested to Chad.

"I never cheat!" Elsa said loudly as they got up.

"Shut up, Elsa!" Chad said over his shoulder.

Elsa laughed a little.

"Well, wasn't that interesting," Jack said.

"We're basically siblings. And even before, when he was just my cousin, we had a ridiculous rivalry," Elsa chuckled. "But not as big a rivalry as…"

Elsa's voice trailed off.

"Hey, think about something else okay?" Jack said, resting a hand on her arm.

"Okay," Elsa said through a breath. She looked up and put on a beaming smile. "Wanna play another game of Uno?"

"Sure."

"I wonder what's taking them so long. It's just food," Elsa said as she dealt out the cards.

"Well," Jack waggled his eyebrows mischievously. "Let's go find out."

Elsa laughed as they got up. They tip-toed to the little kitchen area, shared by two dorms, and peeked around a corner.

Chad was leaning over the counter looking up at Tooth. He said something that made her laugh.

Jack and Elsa looked at each other. Elsa's face seemed to ask if they should leave them alone. Jack thought for a minute. It was awfully tempting to embarrass Chad somehow, but another part of him wanted to leave them alone. Before he could decide, Elsa tugged on his arm and pulled him away.

Elsa let go and wandered to the little couch, and plopped down on it.

"That was the perfect opportunity to embarrass him you know." Jack said.

"Yes it was, and I wanted to too." Elsa smiled evilly. "But he's liked Tooth for so long that I think it would set him back again to interrupt when I think he might be finally getting somewhere. It would be just plain rude, and he'd probably be mad at me if I pranked him like that."

"Oh," was all he could say. She was always so good at explaining her motives.

"So, how well did you know Chad before everything happened?"

"Quite well. I know all my cousins well, but their family was my absolute favorite. Uncle Jeff always helped me with music stuff, and my aunt was seemed friendlier than my others, and their kids always seemed to be more approachable than any other cousin."

"Chad's different though. He's more of like a best friend and a brother combined. Even his younger sister and I don't get click as well as we seem to do. He never seemed to mind that I was a girl either. He would make fun of me, and I would hit him for it, then he'd do something little back, and then he'd be blocking punches. He also never minded hugging me or whatever. It wasn't weird to him to hang out with a girl, and I've never been much of a complete girly girl either, so it just worked out I guess."

"Huh, cool," Jack said. He never really did much with his cousins. "So, let's get on with that Uno game."

…

Jack stared at the ceiling. Thoughts swirled around in his brain. It kept switching from Elsa to Pitch, then back to Elsa. He liked Elsa, quite a bit actually. He liked how comfortable their friendship was at the moment, but he wanted to take another step. He wanted to ask her out. He wanted to do something that would technically be called a date, but something that would just be purely fun.

Chad came out of the bathroom, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. Jack propped himself up with his elbow.

"What's up?" Chad asked, noticing Jack.

"Nothing," Jack paused. "Actually, do know what Elsa likes to do for fun?"

Chad laughed a little.

"Why? Are you thinking about making a move on my cousin?"

"Maybe," Jack said with a sly smile. "Is that okay."

"It's great! Thank goodness, because that girl needs a guy like you. Well, are you looking for a group thing, or just you two?" Chad leaned against the wall.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"Well, for a first date, I suggest a group thing. How about…. A hike?" He suggests.

Jack thought about. Sounds fun. Elsa does seem to like being outside. Jack smiled wide.

"Perfect."

…

"Hey, Elsa. I was wondering, well, if you wanted to go on a double date, sort of, with Chad and Tooth?"

Jack stared at himself in the mirror.

"Argh. No. I don't know what I'm supposed to say! She's probably been asked out a zillion times, and I'm going to act like an idiot because I've never asked a girl on a date," Jack ranted to himself in the mirror.

"Dude!" Chad shouted from outside of the bathroom. "Just do it!"

Jack sighed as he finished combing his hair into his usual wild style. He walked out and grabbed his jacket. He reached for the door handle, but he just stood there.

"Chill, Jack. You can do it," Chad said, punching him in the shoulder.

"By the way," he said on Jack's way out. "She's never been asked out before. You're the first lucky man."

Before Jack could reply Chad slammed the door. He heard him chuckling on the other side. Jack shook his head as he began walking away.

…

"Wake up sleepy head!" A familiar voice said. Elsa sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She squinted at Tooth.

"What are you waking me up for? It's Saturday."

Her eyes wandered around the room.

"Good morning Jack." She said to him when she spotted him.

"Jack!" She yelped and yanked the covers around her head.

"Ummm," she heard Jack say. "I'm just going to wait outside for a minute."

Elsa waited to uncover herself until she heard he door shut.

"Great, now you made him feel bad, or weird. One of the two!" Tooth said, her hands on her hips.

"Well, what if Chad came in and was watching you sleep!" Elsa said irritably.

She huffed as she stood up. She quickly got dressed and made her presentable. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door.

Jack was sitting across from her door, twiddling his thumbs. He looked up at her and smiled nervously.

"I'm sorry, I should have just gone back to my dorm."

"No, it's okay. I'm not upset with you," She said.

"Well, okay. Um, I was wondering… hey, why don't we go for a walk?" He suggested.

"Okay," she says hesitantly.

Elsa smiled once they got outside. After a while, Jack stopped.

"Will you go on a double date with me? With Chad and Tooth? You don't even have to call it a date if you want to."

Elsa froze. Did he just ask her for a date? A date! She'd never been on a date before.

 _But I want to._ She thought.

She looked up at Jack's tight, expectant face. He looked away and at everything but her. She smiled.

….

 _She's going to say no. I just know it, she's going to say no. If she liked you she would have replied by now._ He thought as he looked at his shoes.

"Of course." She nodded.

Jack's head jerked up, his eyes wide.

"Seriously?"

She nodded.

"Seriously!"

Elsa smiled and nodded again, dramatically.

"Yes! She said yes!" He yelled, jumping up and down. Elsa laughed.

He got her to say yes!

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **I'm doing a short note here. Sorry that there's no song, but at least I got to write a chapter. I was visiting my awesome cousins that inspire this story during Christmas break. I now have fresh ideas for this!**_

 _ **Sorry it's short, and not edited, but it'll have to do.**_

 _ **Happy New Year my beautiful readers!**_

 _ **Review please!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_

 _ **a.k.a Anna**_


	9. Chapter 8 Secrets

Chapter 8 Secrets

Jack couldn't help but smile as he watched Elsa walk in front of him. It warmed his heart to see her like this. Happy, without a care in the world. She was laughing at something Tooth had said. The weather was perfect. A warm breeze blew her hair, which was lit up in sun. Her blue eyes sparkled with life, void of the sadness that he'd seen several weeks earlier. She had seemed so lost and scared. But now none of that was present, and he would love to think that he played a part in that.

"I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm starving!" Chad said, throwing his hands up in the air. Tooth giggled.

Jack shook his head and said that he agreed. "Why don't we stop here and have our lunch."

"Okay." Elsa said, once they were situated on a blanket on the ground. "I brought ham sandwiches, grapes, and some chips."

"Awww, no cookies or anything?" Chad whined playfully.

Elsa chuckled, "Yes, Chad, I brought some cookies too. You're so immature."

"Thanks, I try." Chad gave her a proud smirk. Tooth broke out into laughter, and fell on her back.

Jack and Elsa shared an amused look, as Chad joined her.

"Dig in!"

* * *

Elsa felt like singing. Everything was perfect. The weather was perfect, her mood was perfect, and the people were perfect. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. And it was all because of the man walking beside her. She felt his hand brush against her. She secretly ached to hold it. Out of nowhere, he bumped into her side gently. She smiled, and shoved back a little harder. They continued to bump each other. Elsa shoved against him as hard as she could, and suddenly he was gone. She heard him shout as he fell. She had shoved him off the bank into the river.

"Jack!" She watched as he splashed into the water. Panic coursed through her body. What if he hit his head, and then he would drown. She didn't think she would be able to go on with life if he died. She hadn't realized this before, but he had become all that was keeping her together.

She gasped when she saw him pop up a little ways downstream. She ran to a spot where the bank wasn't so steep, and scrambled down. She ran to him, and helped pull him out. He was sopping wet, and goose bumps covered his arms. His white shirt clung to his skin underneath his blue flannel. He hugged himself, and rubbed his hand up and down his arms. The water wasn't exactly warm. And no matter how nice the weather was, it was not warm enough to be taking a swim.

"Jack, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! Are you okay? You're freezing! This is my fault, I'm so sorry!" Elsa rambled, concern and panic still evident on her face. Jack looked at her. He smiled at her through his chattering teeth.

"I'm fine Elsa, just very cold. It's okay, I started it. I should have been more careful." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at his touch.

"You are freezing! Oh my gosh, we need to get you warmed up right now." Elsa said, her face taking on a more controlled look. Jack nodded and preceded to take his soaked shirt off. Elsa stared at his bare chest, except for the guitar pick necklace hanging from his neck with a leather string. She swallowed, and nodded her head in agreement before turning around. Chad, standing above her on the bank smirked at her. He looked at Jack, and she heard Jack laugh.

"What is so funny?" Elsa said, whipping back around. She tried her best to keep her eyes trained on his face, but they kept flicking downward.

"Nothing!" Jack said, holding his hands up innocently, but his face said otherwise.

"Uh huh. Okay, so what? I find you shirtless attractive. Is that not normal?" Elsa said. Everyone else just laughed. Elsa tried to keep a straight face, but to no avail. She snorted, which turned into laughter. After she calmed down, she smiled at Jack. A deep blush creeped onto her pale cheeks.

"I'm glad you find me attractive." Jack said. Elsa nodded, embarrassment taking over. Jack walked up to her. Jack and Tooth had left the edge of the bank and were starting a fire for Jack.

"A hug would help me warm up, you know." Jack said with a smile. If any other guy had asked her of this, she would have slapped them in the face and walked off. But Jack was different. Plus he wasn't asking just so he could get some physical contact or anything. He was asking, because he was genuinely cold, he was technically just her friend and they had hugged before, and he was also asking with caution. He had respect for her and didn't want to cross any boundaries.

Elsa leaned forward and slowly wrapped her arms around his cold torso. She felt the goosebumps on his back under her fingertips. Her head rested on his chest. She could feel drips of water from his hair dripping onto her head. He gingerly placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Elsa wasn't sure why, but she wasn't freaking out like she would have thought she would, being in such an intimate moment with a guy. In fact, there were no butterflies or anything at all, just a calming, soothing feeling. She felt safe. She tilted her head up, and they looked each other in the eyes. He leaned a little closer, like was going to kiss her, but something held him back. Maybe it was her. She rested her forehead under chin for a few seconds before pulling away from him.

* * *

Jack felt the warmth of her body leaving as she moved away. He wanted to reach out and take her back, but he knew better than that. His stomach was doing back flips, and his mouth was suddenly dry. He could still feel where her hands had ghosted across his back.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his daze. All of a sudden, he felt the full effects of the cold wind on his wet body. He began to shuffle up the bank, with the help of Elsa, who held his dripping shirt. She took her free hand and grabbed his arm to pull him up to the grass.

* * *

It was dark by the time they had reached their cars. Jack got in the driver's side of his car quickly and turned on the heat. They had not been able to get a fire going, and had to keep on walking instead. His fingers were numb, and he was shaking from head to toe. Elsa sat down on the passenger's side. She reached over for his hand.

"I'm sorry I pushed you into the river." She said, a smile creeping on her lips.

"It's alright. We'll look back on this and laugh for the rest of our lives. Besides, I got a pretty great hug out of it." Jack said, smiling at her. Elsa chuckled. "Well, let's get back to our dorms."

* * *

Jack walked her up to her dorm. They had already gone back to his to get a change of clothes. Chad and Tooth had gone out to get some ice cream, so they were by themselves. She invited him in so she could give him something to eat for dinner before he left. While she was in the little kitchen, Jack wandered around the bedroom. He looked over and saw some picture frames. A lot of them were of her and a younger red head. The others had Chad in it, and some other kids that looked like him. And two adults.

Elsa came in and handed him a sandwich. She explained that those were her cousins with Chad, and her aunt and uncle.

"And the red head? Is that your sister?" Something about her seemed strangely familiar.

"Yep, that's Anna." Elsa smiled half-heartedly. Then suddenly it hit Jack like a ton of bricks. He nearly dropped his sandwich. He swallowed hard.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Elsa said, concerned. She place a hand on his forearm. He looked at her with panic, then back to the picture of Anna.

"That's your sister? That's your sister." Jack said, trying to process this in his mind. _No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This isn't happening._

"Jack, what is wrong? What has gotten into you?" Elsa's eyebrows crinkled, growing frustrated.

"I've got to go." He started walking towards the door, but before he could shut it behind him, Elsa grabbed his hand. She looked him in his eyes. He stood there for a moment looking back at her. He shook his head, and pulled his hand away and left.

"Jack!"

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **Okay, guys, I know you guys all must probably hate me for not updating for like an entire year. Of course I didn't mean to, but life happens and I then I lost interest. But now I'm back! I've actually had this chapter ready for a few weeks, but haven't been able to post it. Sorry!**_

 _ **I would like to point out that I had put out an 8**_ _ **th**_ _ **chapter a while ago, but I later deleted it. I didn't like it and it contained some things that I realized wasn't what I wanted to represent. It wasn't bad, but it was pushing my line.**_

 _ **With that said, I would like to state again that I will never post any sexual scenes, or use innuendoes. I will always keep things clean. No cuss words or anything. Of course there will have to be natural healthy attraction like in this chapter. And that, btw, is the worst thing that will ever happen. A girl might run into a shirtless guy, there will be kissing, but everything will always have a boundary. No sex, no immodesty, no cuss words, and so on. No M! I am a Christian and I choose not to represent this stupid sex obsessed world. Romance is great, fun, and I love romance stories. But there is a limit, and you can enjoy romance without sex just like in real life. I will not cross the line. Thank you!**_

 _ **So, yeah I thought about putting a song in this, but I couldn't find one that was perfect.**_

 _ **Guys we have a whole other album to use now! Go Unleashed! Thank you Skillet! I promise I will use one next chapter.**_

 _ **So, what do you think about Jack? I'm pretty sure yall' know what has happened cause you guys are all freaking geniuses.**_

 _ **If you have any ideas, please let me know in a review. Also, would you guys hate me if I used a few songs not by Skillet? Coldplay, Moriah Peters, ForKing &Country?**_

 _ **Thank you guys for reading and sticking with me through my chronic procrastination. LOL!**_ _ **Love you guys!**_

 _ **Annanarra**_

 _ **(a.k.a Anna)**_


	10. Chapter 9 The Girl

Jack collapsed on his couch in his dorm after running all the way from Elsa's. Tears mingled with sweat on his face. Memories that he had buried were resurfacing. It was her. Anna was _her_. Anna was the girl that was being chased and harassed by that man at the Burgess mall almost two years ago. How could this be happening? Out of all the people… it was Elsa's sister?

What was he supposed to do now? He just ran out on Elsa. He would have to explain to her. Explain everything. But what would she think? Would she think he was a monster? Maybe not, but she would certainly never look at him the same again. He had killed someone with his bare hands. Intentionally or not, that would scare anyone, not just Elsa. What was he thinking? He was never going to find a girl that wouldn't be terrified of him, let alone love him. He should have known better than to get so involved in Elsa's life. He knew he was going to have to tell her someday. He had just gotten so wrapped up in how amazing she was, and how much he wanted to comfort her. They were so alike because they were both hurting so deeply. _No! You're nothing alike! She is grieving because her parents are dead, and you are murderer who doesn't know how to get a grip._

Jack tossed and turned in his bed all night. He could not sleep. Eventually he pulled out his phone and listened to some music.

 _ **I hate feeling like this. I'm so tired of trying to fight this. I'm asleep and all I dream of is waking to you.**_

 _ **Tell me that you will listen, cause your touch is what I'm missin'. And the more I hide I realize, I'm slowly losin' you.**_

 _ **Comatose, I'll never wake up without an overdose, of you.**_

 _ **I don't wanna live, I don't wanna breathe, 'less I feel you next to me. You take the pain I feel. (Wakin' up you never felt so real.)**_

 _ **I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream. Cause my dreams don't comfort me the way, you make me feel. (wakin' up to you never felt so real.)**_

 _ **I hate livin' without you. Dead wrong to ever doubt you. But me demons lay in waitin', tempting me away.**_

 _ **Oh how I adore you. Oh how I thirst for you. Oh how I need you.**_

 _ **Comatose, Oh I'll never wake up without an overdose, of you.**_

 _ **I don't wanna live, I don't wanna breathe, 'less I feel you next to me. You take the pain I feel. (Wakin' up you never felt so real.)**_

 _ **I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream. Cause my dreams don't comfort me the way, you make me feel. (wakin' up to you never felt so real.)`**_

 _ **Breathing life, waking up, my eyes, open up.**_

 _ **Comatose, I'll never wake up without an overdose of you.**_

 _ **I don't wanna live, I don't wanna breathe, 'less I feel you next to me. You take the pain I feel. (Wakin' up you never felt so real.)**_

 _ **I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream. Cause my dreams don't comfort me the way, you make me feel. (wakin' up to you never felt so real.)**_

 _ **Oh how I adore you, waking up to you never felt so real. Oh how I thirst for you, waking up to you never felt so real. Oh how I adore you, ohhh. The way you make me feel, waking up to never felt so real.**_

Elsa sighed, giving up hope that Jack would come to choir today. She just wanted to make sure he was alright. He wasn't answering her texts or calls. She was getting really worried. Thankfully, not too worried, but she was nervous. She hoped she wouldn't have a panic attack. She hadn't had one in such a long time. And it was all thanks to him. Elsa couldn't help but smile. But it quickly faded when she remembered what happened. But then again, what actually had happened? She was so confused. One minute he was really happy, although cold, and the next he's running out the door. Elsa tried to remember what had taken place just before, but the only thing that came to mind were the pictures. _Wait, the pictures! He was looking at a picture of Anna. Whatever it is, it has to do with Anna._

A week went by, and still no word from Jack. Elsa began contemplating going to his dorm and demanding answers. But Chad was keeping her up to date on how he was doing. He said that Jack just needed some time to sort things out. When she asked what "things" he needed to sort out, Chad just said she'll know in due time.

The second week, Jack came back to his classes, and acted semi-normal. But he never really said anything to her. On Friday, Elsa decided enough was enough. This was ridiculous.

"Jack. Wait." She caught his arm before he left the choir room. "I need to talk to you."

"I know. I need to too. And I owe you an explanation, but…." He hesitated, like he didn't trust himself. Or her? "Elsa… I can't do this. Not _yet_. I'm sorry. I need more time."

"How much more time do you need, Jack? I need you Jack. And I care about you. I want to know what's wrong!" She yelled at him. But her words were just echoes in the hall as he ran out the door. And once again he was gone. Leaving her alone to try to keep herself together.

Elsa woke up early. But not on purpose, her body wouldn't let her sleep any longer. So, she got up and got dressed for the day, even though it was Sunday. She went down to the cafeteria to get some early breakfast, then headed to one of the practice rooms. Every one of them had a keyboard inside, and some other music related items like a tuner and a guitar amp. She sat down, took out her music, and began to play.

Jack was walking down the hall of practice rooms, on his way to the repair room. He had broken a string on his electric guitar. And when you break one, you most likely need to replace all of them. But when he heard someone in one of the rooms, he stopped. What was someone doing in there so early? He felt a little guilty, but he decided to see who it was. He peeked through the little window. He was surprised to see Elsa sitting at the piano, her back turned to him. She was warming up. Then she started playing a song. It sounded familiar.

" _I went to bed I was thinking about you. Ain't the same since I'm living without you. All memories are getting colder, all the things that I wanna do over. Went to bed I was thinking about you, I wanna talk and laugh like we used to. When I see you in my dreams at night, it's so real but it's in my mind, and now, I guess, this is as good as it gets."_

Jack realized that she was singing a Skillet song. _I didn't know she liked Skillet!_

 _"Don't wake me, cause I don't wanna leave this dream. Don't wake me, cause I never seem to stay asleep enough, when it's you I'm dreaming of, I don't wanna wake up."_

 _I think she's singing about me._ Jack thought.

" _I went to bed I was thinking about you. And how it felt when I finally found you. It's like movie playing over in my head. Don't wanna look cause I know how it ends. All th-"_

Elsa stopped playing, and whipped her head around. Jack quickly ducked his head and crawled away. _Whoo! That was close._ Jack played the words of the song through his head again. He knew it by heart. Had she really given up on him? He felt awful. How could ignore her for this long. _Alright, I'm done playing games now. I've have to let her in._

"Chad? Are you in here?" Jack asked as he came through the door. His roommate turned his head in his direction.

"What's up?"

"I need to tell you something. 'Has to do with, _it_."

"Oh, I see. Well, sit down. What's up?" Chad said as he patted on a brown futon.

"Um, well. You know the girl?"

"Yeah"

"Well, that girl…was Anna."

"What?!" Chad said, shocked and not fully convinced. "You mean to tell me that Anna was harassed and all that, and she never bothered to tell us? Are you sure?" Chad's eyes were wild.

"Yes, I'm sure. I was looking at Elsa's pictures, and saw Anna. I immediately recognized her. I promise, it is her."

"Jack, you seriously need to get over yourself and tell Elsa. This involves her now, not just you."

"I know. I will. I'm going to tell her tomorrow. I'm really sorry. I just hope Elsa will understand. And still like me."

"Dude! Of course she will! She is head over heels for you. She calls me just about every day asking me how you're doing. Except the last few days. If you don't do this tomorrow, you might lose her. I think she's about to give up on you."

"I know. And that's why I need your help."

"With what?" Chad looked very confused.

"Well…."

 _ **A/N**_

 _ **So, uh, hehehe, I once again performed my infamous disappearing act, and I haven't updated in forever. Sorry! I had a chapter ready a while ago, but I went to finish it up, and somehow I didn't save it, and I lost everything! And it was really long! I was really mad, and decided that I wasn't going to finish this story. But I was about to type another story, when I went back and read the reviews on this, and I realized that I needed to finish this story anyway. So here I am. I did use TWO Skillet songs today though! More like one and a half, but whatever.**_

 _ **The original chapter, the one that vanished, was COMPLETELY different. Like, diabolical, villainy from Pitch. Seriously, it was crazy action up in here. But I really, REALLY didn't want to re write that so I did this instead. Don't worry, Pitch will still rear his ugly head. :D Can you guess what Jack is going to do? ;P**_

 _ **Shout out to snow universe for the encouraging words! Really, its what convinced me to update.**_

 _ **Thanks gang! If any of you have any suggestions or whatever, just leave it in a review! Thanks!**_

 _ **God bless!**_

 _ **~Annanarra**_


	11. Chapter 10 The Truth

_**Chapter 10 The Truth**_

 _"I know. And that's why I need your help." "With what?" Chad looked very confused._

 _"Well…."_ Jack grinned. "I saw an advertisement the other day for a music competition here on campus next month. It's put on by several famous record labels. There will be a bunch of them there, and several popular artists. The winning group/artist gets a trip to the headquarters of the record label of their choice. While they are there, they will begin a contract for one album. I really want to enter, but I need a band."

"So, this is where I come in?" Chad asked, grinning.

"Yup. How would you like to play the piano?"

"That sounds great. But, what does this have to do with telling Elsa the truth" Chad said, with a skeptical look.

"Ok, so, we need to practice in front of some people. So I thought we could practice for the choir. I have the perfect song, to you know… kind of apologize through song to Elsa. Then, I will tell her."

"Okay then. I think that will work. When do we start?"

"No better time than the present." Jack smiled.

_o0o_

Elsa set her book bag underneath her chair before she sat down for choir class. She saw Jack get up from his seat and go to Mrs. Fox's desk. She nodded and smiled as he spoke to her. He walked away and left the room. Moments later he walked in with a cobalt electric guitar, followed by Chad with two binders. Elsa gave her cousin a questioning look. What was he doing here?

Jack began to talk about this competition he was going to enter as he plugged his guitar into an amp. Chad gave him a stand and a binder, then set himself up at the piano. Jack said that he was going run-through his song for the choir.

Then he looked straight at Elsa, and smiled. " _You burn so bright, I see stars. The way ya laugh, it's like a heavenly choir. You make me feel, invincible. When you're with me, I can take on the world. You were comet, and I lost it. Watching for comets, Will I see you again? You burn so bright, you burn me up tonight."_

 _"Say my name, I'll be there. I didn't know, you should have said that you cared. It's not too late, for broken hearts. Take my hand, make a wish on a star. You were a comet, and I lost it. Watching for comets, will I see you again?"_

 _"Everybody needs someone, but they can't feel like this. How can I breathe with this burning in my chest? You were gone so fast, I want ya back. You were a comet, and I lost it. (Time to spread my wings and fly.) Watching for comets, will I see you again? (Time to fly away so high.)"_

 _"Now I see you I'm frozen time. All your colors, burst into life. I don't dare close my eyes, cause a love like this, happens once in a lifetime."_

 _"You were a comet, and I lost it. Watching for comets, will I see you again? Everybody needs someone, but they can't feel like this. How can I breathe with this burning in my chest? You were gone so fast, I want ya back. You were a comet, and I lost it. (Time to spread my wings and fly.) Watching for comets, will I see you again? (Time to fly away so high.)"_

 _"You burn so bright, you burn me up tonight"_

Elsa's eyes were wide, and she felt pride and happiness bubble inside her. For one, he had an _incredible_ voice and two, if she understood correctly, he was going to let her in. She looked over at Mrs. Fox and caught her eyes. She nodded to her and Jack. Elsa got up and left the room. Jack joined her in the hallway. He smiled at her, and took her hand in his.

"Follow me." He said.

_oOo_

His stomach fluttered when she smiled back at him. He wasn't sure if his uneasiness came from being close to her, or from the fact that he was about to tell her everything. He led her outside and to a bench by the campus pond. He tightened his grip on her hand as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Elsa, I'm really sorry for keeping this from you. I knew I was going to have to tell you someday, but I tried ignoring it instead."

"It's okay, I know that whatever it is, it must be painful. And I know what that's like." She said, attempting to comfort him.

"Thank you. Well… um, about a year before I started college, I was in the mall, just hanging around, and stuff. I was about to leave, when I saw this girl walking really fast, and then she began running. A little ways behind her, I realized that some guy was following her. A while later I saw him pushing her against the wall in a dark corner. She looked really scared, so I walked closer and she mouthed _help_. So I ran up and shoved the guy. We started fighting and the next thing I knew, he wasn't moving." Jack stopped his explanation. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Elsa, I killed that man."

Jack watched Elsa's face. He looked into her eyes, searching for her feelings. Was she repulsed? Disappointed, or frightened? Before she could respond, he decided to continue his story.

"A couple weeks later, I told my mom. She helped me, and put me in counseling. I wasn't charged for man-slaughter. Something about the circumstances and my age, but I think it was a down-right miracle. I finished my senior year, and was accepted into DDU. And then I met you. And I liked you, right from the start. I met your cousin Chad first, as my new roommate, and I had to tell him everything. He thought nothing of it. But then I went to your dorm, and I realized that I had to tell you. That scared me to no end."

"But why did you run out like that? You were looking at a picture of my sister. Does she have something to do with it, somehow?" Elsa said, confusion clearly evident on her face.

"Because, that girl at the mall, was Anna." Jack said. He once again searched her face. Her eyes widened in shock.

"How? How could she keep this from me? From everyone? What did that man look like?" Elsa babbled.

"He had red hair. Tall, and a bit older than Anna. Sideburns." Jack mumbled, feeling slightly uncomfortable explaining the features of the man he killed.

"That's him. That's Hans. Anna's old boyfriend. I had told her not to date him. He was graduated and she was only a freshman. He was totally creepy. But she never spoke about him after… oh my goodness… after her shopping trip in Burgess!" Elsa ran a hand through her hair. Something else dawned on her. "Jack, you saved my sister! How can I ever thank you?" She leaned forward and gave him a hug.

Jack was shocked. He looked down at her hugging his body, and slowly he wrapped his arms around her. He smiled. "So, you don't…you don't think of me any differently?" Elsa pulled away and looked up at him.

"Of course I think of you differently." Elsa paused and smiled. "You are a hero."

Jack let out a breath and a smile. "You really think so?"

"Of course. You saved my sister, and you have braved through all that has happened. And, although I wish you had told me sooner, I'm glad you did in the end. Jack, I just want you to promise me something."

"Anything." He said, leaning forward slightly.

"Never keep secrets from me. And I won't keep secrets from you." Elsa put a hand on his shoulder. "Promise?"

"I promise." Jack said. He stared into her eyes, unknowingly leaning closer and closer. She was amazing. He couldn't believe that this went so well. Every fear fell away. Every wall he built, crumbled.

_oOo_

Elsa realized how close their faces were. She felt the same butterflies she felt a couple weeks ago at the creek. He made her feel happy and scared at the same time. It was like riding a rollercoaster. Then she felt their lips touch. It was a sweet, still kiss. It wasn't really heated or passionate, it was slow and patient, and most of all it was filled with love. Actions speak louder than words. The action was that both of them decided to let the other in. They allowed their walls to be broken.

They pulled apart, and Elsa leaned her head against Jack's chest. She listened to his heart beat, which was a bit faster than normal. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed. She was so happy. Happier than she had ever felt in a very long time. She felt full, and complete. Where had this man been all her life?

Elsa could feel him smiling against her skin as he pushed his nose into the crook of her neck. She giggled as his hair tickled her neck. She pulled away from him again, and grabbed his hand. He intertwined their fingers and smiled at her.

"Elsa, I love you." He said.

"I love you too."

"Someone find me a bucket to barf in!" Said a familiar voice from behind them. Jack's smile quickly fell from his face. Elsa gasped when she saw Pitch walking towards them.

"Pitch, leave us alone, okay." Jack said, trying to stay calm.

"Why, just so you two can continue your make out session? Why would I do that, when I could find entertainment in embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend?" Pitch laughed. "I mean, it wouldn't take much, considering who I'm talking to."

Jack glanced at Elsa, before looking back at Pitch. "You can't hurt me anymore."

"Jack," Elsa said quietly. "Let's just leave."

"Okay." Jack said, getting up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

"Away."

"Oh, I don't think so." Pitch grabbed Jack by the shoulder and punched him in the stomach. Elsa heard Jack grunt. "What ya' gonna do toothpick? I know you don't have the guts to hit me back. Oh, Elsa, did he tell what he did? He murdered someone while in high school. Now he's too chicken to fight me. After everything that I've done to him, he hasn't laid a hand on me. Isn't that cute?" Pitch flashed his perfectly fang-like teeth at Elsa.

"Yes. I do know what happened. And Jack is a hero. You? You're just a coward." She spit out. "I also know what you've been doing to him, and it's horrible. It's not even human. Jack has done everything he can to fix what he did, and he still lets it torture him. Do you even feel bad for what you are doing to him? No, I don't think you do. And that is why Jack is a hero. You are the one who has no guts."

"Oooh, feisty." Pitch walked over to Elsa and reached out to touch her. "I like you."

"Do not even breathe on her." Jack growled. Pitch quickly grabbed Elsa's arms and twisted them behind her. Jack lunged at him, and hit him in the face. Pitch howled in pain, and pushed Elsa away.

"This is not over Frost!" He said through gritted teeth before walking away.

Jack leaned down and helped Elsa up.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his eyes still dancing wildly.

"Yes I'm fine. Are you hurt?" Elsa glanced at his ribs.

"Not really, but I'll have I nasty bruise there for a while. Thank you for saying all of that back there."

"I meant every word. By the way, how come you never told me about Pitch? I saw you getting beat up a while back. I distracted Pitch and got the campus nurse to help you. I've been really concerned about you, but I thought you would tell me when you were ready."

"I didn't want you to think I was coward for not fighting back. I've just been so scared to throw a punch since the incident. Until now of course. He really had that coming." Jack grinned slightly.

"Yes he did. And like I said. You're a hero, not a coward. And that's actually kind of noble of you not to fight anymore. But there are times when you simply need to defend yourself. You've got that figure out now I think." Elsa swung their intertwined hands, and began to walk. "Now let's go get something to eat. I'm starving!"

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I feel like it's not as good as it should be, seeing as it is the feel good climax. I guess I'm a little rusty. More like a lot, but whatever. Practice makes perfect, and I need more practice. Just like I need to practice my clarinet, my piano, and my guitar, and do chores, and run a bible study, and update a blog more regularly, and start exercising. And that's just during the summer. I really need to prioritize my hobbies and stuff. I have too many._**

 ** _Anywho, this is not the last chapter. I'm planning on making a couple more. I need Pitch to make his final blow, and reveal the answer to a mystery you guys don't even know about. And I want the families to meet a little, and Anna to meet Jack, which will be really weird._** ** _J But interesting! I also have an epilogue planned. Depending on the reviews, I may make a one-shot based off some missing things in the epilogue. _**

**_I hope you guys liked the song in this chapter! I thought it was perfect. :D Anyways, I need to go. BYE BYE!_**

 ** _God Bless!_**

 ** _~Annanarra_**


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